GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!
by Pacer287
Summary: The legends said that when the Gate opened it would lead The Empire to a world beyond their greatest dreams, but they never considered what forces would defend such a world. They didn't expect the Goddesses of this world to descend and protect their people. They didn't expect them to travel through the Gate. They didn't expect them to be this... strange.
1. Prologue: Thus It Begins

GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!

Prologue: Thus It Begins

It was a beautiful day in Gamindustri; the sun was shining, the grass was green, the horsebirds were... neighing? chirping? They were making whatever noise an equine-avian hybrid made. The point is that everything is peaceful and there aren't any megalomaniac's trying to destroy the world, in fact things have been pretty calm since Rei Ryghts' rampage almost a year ago. Apparently a lot of monsters had been caught in the crossfire while Rei was going nuts. This meant that the CPU's have had a lot of free time, there was still paperwork of course and the monsters had begun to regenerate again, but their workloads were a lot lighter than usual.

And what do the Goddesses do when they don't have any work?

"Eat my dust Noire!"

"Neptune, you're in last place."

"You're not doing much better than she is Noire."

"It doesn't matter what place any of you are in. You're not beating me at a Lowee racing game."

What else? They gather in Planeptune to hang out and play games. Now there was technically a professional reason for the other CPU's being in Planeptune; officially they were there for an annual diplomatic meeting where they discussed the state of their nations, proposed new policies, and conducted similar political discussions. But what most people don't know is that, more often then not, these meeting could be summed up as "everything's good, fire up the console." They could always talk politics later.

Which is how we got to where we are now.

Seated on the couch in Neptune's living room were the four CPU's of Gamindustri: the elegant and well-endowed Vert, the petite and explosive Blanc, the friendless tsundere Noire, and last but not least the Embodiment of Randomness herself: Neptune, Devourer of Pudding and Destroyer of the Fourth-Wall. Unfortunately Neptune's Protagonist status didn't seem to be helping her in this particular scenario as she was indeed in last place, and no matter how many lightning bolts she threw at the other racers she couldn't manage to pull ahead. Noire was doing slightly better, but every time she gained ground she'd lose it to the bot racers a few moments later. The real stars of this race had been Vert and Blanc, with the latter obviously having a home-field advantage and the former fiercely holding on to second place.

But Vert had a plan to change that; every couple seconds she shifted in her place, and each time she shifted was an excuse to perform her famous "Vert Bounce." Noire and Neptune didn't pay any attention beyond the occasional glance, it was just Vert being Vert after all. Blanc on the other hand was sporting a twitching eye, bulging vein, and was holding her controller in a death grip.

It wouldn't be long before Mt. Blanc erupted.

"It won't work." Blanc said, though her voice had a dangerous edge to it.

"What won't work?" Vert asked innocently, feigning ignorance while once again bouncing her chest.

"Don't play dumb, you know what you're doing." Blanc shot back, grinding her teeth in frustration as she tried to ignore the blonde CPU's attempts to rile her up.

"And what am I doing~?" Vert drawled, leaning in closer to the smaller goddess so that her well endowed chest was right next to Blanc's head.

If you listened closely you could probably hear Blanc's patience snapping as a shadow fell over her face and her left eye began glowing red.

"KEEP YOUR DAMN MELONS OUT OF MY FACE THUNDER TITS!" Blanc roared, dropping her controller and furiously jumping up in her spot and turning to face the green themed CPU.

And completely forgetting about the game.

"Goodbye." Vert said with an elegant yet cheeky smile as her racer pulled ahead. Blanc, realizing that she'd fallen for Verts trick hook, line, and sinker, immediately picked her controller back up, but unfortunately she wasn't quick enough to stop her kart from driving off the edge of the track. There was no way Blanc could catch back up with her, not when they were on the third lap with such a short distance between them and the finish line.

Vert smiled contently as she neared the finish; soon victory would be hers, nothing could stop her now!

"Hyah! Neptune outta nowhere!"

Which is why it came as an absolute shock to everyone when Neptune suddenly drove up and stole first place from Vert mere seconds before she crossed the finish line. For a few minutes the three goddesses stared at the results screen in silent shock as Neptune smiled with satisfaction. After the CPU's recovered they fixed the purple haired girl with a collective glare that demanded she explain her unexpected come-back.

"What did you expect, I am the main character after all." Neptune replied with a big smile as she flashed them the peace sign.

"Ugh, of course you use that as an excuse!" Noire huffed in exasperation.

"Indeed, it has become rather tiresome." Vert agreed with a sigh.

"Typical Neptune." Blanc added with a small scowl.

"Don't hate the player, hate the game." Neptune replied. The CPU's all glanced at each other and, after coming to some unspoken agreement, looked back at Neptune with mischievous smiles. "Uh... what's with the serial killer smiles guys?" Neptune asked, her smile becoming nervous at the other CPU's sudden change in attitude.

"Well, we realized you were right; you're not the problem, the game is." Noire said in a sarcastic tone.

"Thankfully it's a problem that has a simple solution." Vert continued, her pleasant tone making the situation even more sinister.

"We're going to put in a new game." Blanc finished with her usual flat tone, which thankfully killed the tension but it didn't do anything to explain why they seemed so pleased with themselves about putting in a new game. Didn't they know her main character status applied no matter what game she was playing? No matter what game they put in she was always going to-

It was at that moment that everything clicked and the lightbulb appeared above Neptune's head. As in she pulled out her phone, looked up a picture of a lightbulb, and held it above her head.

"You three are gonna pick a fighting game and gang up on me like in the prologue for Victory and Re;Birth 3!" Neptune declared with a dramatic finger point worthy of a certain Lowee attorney.

"I assumed you would admire the simplicity." Vert said with an amused chuckle.

"It isn't very complicated." Blanc agreed with a small grin.

Noire opened her mouth to give her own witty comment, but then she closed it and leaned forward slightly, squinting her eyes and looking at Neptune in a way that made the purple haired girl wonder if she had something on her face. "Uh Neptune, it looks like you missed a message from your sister." The black themed goddess informed her. Neptune looked at her inbox and saw that she did indeed have a message from Nep Jr. This entire scene had been loaded with event triggers so far, and it was a fair bet that something had happened while they were-

"Holy Moe!" Neptune exclaimed with overdramatized shock as she saw the picture that she'd been sent. The other CPU's were behind her in an instant, eager to see what had caused her reaction. It was a picture of Nepgear and Uni; they were standing in front of a claw machine in what appeared to be a Planeptune arcade, their arms around each other's shoulders and a large stuffed bear, presumably won from the claw game, held between them. Both of them had sheepish but happy smiles on their faces, which were colored pink from light blushes.

"Oh, that is simply adorable~! You must send this to me immediately Neptune!" Vert nearly squealed.

"It is very cute." Blanc agreed with a small smile.

Noire didn't say anything, she simply glanced over to Neptune. Ruby met amethyst as Neptune looked back and their eyes met, though only for a moment.

Nepgear and Uni's relationship had been a source of joy for all four of the older CPU's; not just because they were an adorable couple, but because it gave them hope that their sisters would not share in the same dark history that they had, and that something like the Console War could never happen again.

And then a sudden fit of giggles from Neptune ruined the moment.

"Seriously Neptune?" Noire deadpanned.

"I was just thinking; wouldn't it be funny if Nep Jr. was trying to send this picture to Uni but she also sent it to me by accident?" The purple themed girl giggled at thought.

"That's ridiculous; there's no way either of them would make such a stupid mistake!"

* * *

"And sent!" Nepgear said happily as her N-Gear beeped. Uni smiled at the picture she'd just received.

"Now remember; you can't share this with anyone, not even Neptune." Uni instructed, doing her best to look stern despite the blush on her face.

"Don't worry; I may love Neptune, but I do keep some secrets from her." Nepgear promised her girlfriend.

Her girlfriend. Even though it had been almost a year since they got together it still made her feel all tingly to think of the Lastation Candidate like that.

"Come on, lets go find Rom and Ram." Uni said, snapping the purple haired Candidate out of her thoughts.

The four Candidates had been given the day to relax while their older sisters "negotiated," but after a while Rom and Ram had gone off on their own, with Ram saying that they didn't want to catch cooties... Kids were mean.

After a few minutes of walking through the lights and noise of the arcade they spotted the twin Candidates and began moving towards them, and as they got closer they noticed the twins were accompanied by a familiar figure. Just as Nepgear was about to call out to them Rom turned around and noticed the two.

"Miss Nepgear, Miss Uni, look at who we found!" She said happily as she pointed at the newcomer; a young girl with light purple hair who was wearing what looked like pajamas and slippers.

It was Plutia; the CPU of Planeptune from a parallel dimension and, when she transformed, the scariest person any of the Candidates had ever met. She was nice enough in her human form, though her sadistic side still shined through every now and then.

"Hello there Uni, Neppy Jr. it's been a while." Plutia greeted in her usual drowsy but happy tone, pleasantly smiling at the two Candidates.

"Hi Plutia." Nepgear returned the CPU's greeting with a polite smile and a nod.

"So what are you doing here?" Uni asked.

"I came to visit Neppy, but this city is soooo~ big and Neppy usually comes to visit me, so I don't know my way around very well." Plutia explained.

Nepgear sighed, of course Neptune wouldn't tell any of her friends that she was unavailable today. Either that or Plutia had decided to show up unannounced, which wasn't as bad but it was still rather rude.

"Sorry Plutia, but Neptune and the others are in the middle of an important meeting. She won't be able to play with you for a while." Nepgear explained, though a part of her did want to tell Plutia that these diplomatic meetings were just a cover so the CPU's could get together and game.

Plutia didn't seem upset by the news she couldn't see Neptune, if anything she looked incredibly surprised, her eyes widening and her hands moved to her mouth as she gave a slow and drowsy gasp.

"Neppy is actually doing work? Is the world ending?" The drowsy girl asked.

Nepgear opened her mouth to tell Plutia that they were not on the brink of the apocalypse for once-

Then the ground started shaking.

* * *

Saying that Rei Ryghts was a nervous person was an understatement, it was more like she was a shambling pile of nerves in the shape of a middle-aged woman, and today she was especially nervous. It had been one year since she had attacked Planeptune City, though she was struggling to wrap her head around how she'd done that in the first place, and she'd finally finished helping with the repairs. The only thing she had left to do was one final meeting with her parole officer.

Her very large, very grumpy parole officer.

Rei fidgeted nervously in her chair, eye's glued to her feet as the man in front of her examined the the form, silent except for the occasional grumble.

"Alright Ms. Ryghts," Rei's eyes snapped up as the man spoke, and she jumped little on the inside when she saw his huge form barely fitting into his uniform. She could never get over how tall he was. "Everything seems to be in order and the damage to the city has been almost completely repaired." He slammed a stamp down on the form he'd been examining, causing Rei to jump again.

"I don't want to see you in here again, ya hear?"

Rei barely squeaked out a meek "yes" as she grabbed the paper and rushed out the door, ducking between people in the hall as she made her way out of the building. It wasn't until she reached the street that things finally started to settle in; her year of community service was finally over, she was finally done with the back-breaking labor of repairing damaged buildings and broken roads.

As the realization dawned on her a feeling joy began to build in her chest, something she had rarely felt before. Rei could barely contain her excitement and, in very out-of-character moment, jumped for joy. It was finally over, she was finally free!

Her impromptu celebration was cut short when a deafening boom filled the air and a blast of wind threw the white-haired woman to the ground. For a few moments Rei simply curled into a ball and lay there, her hands covering her ears and her eyes sealed shut as the ground shook beneath her and the wind howled past.

After a few moments things seemed to return to normal and Rei cautiously began to move. She pushed herself up and adjusted her glasses to take in her surroundings. The street was wrecked; cars were overturned, windows were broken, signs had been blown off of buildings, and street lights had been knocked over or even ripped out of the ground by the force of the wind. Rei looked back to the origin of the blast and found a that an apartment building at the end of the street had been completely reduced to rubble.

A new feeling began welling up inside of Rei: rage. She'd spent months putting the city back together, and now some random explosion was just going to tear it apart?! And even worse, she'd spent the last month working on this particular block!

"Oh come on! I just finished fixing this place!" The snow-haired woman shouted in another moment of uncharacteristic boldness, angrily stamping her foot on the ground and throwing her arms in the air in exasperation. She stood their panting for a few moments as her rage died down, and as her rational mind took over she realized that their had probably been people in that building when it had collapsed.

Despite what many people thought she was a good person; she'd become an activist to help people after all, and she had acquired a lot of experience with moving rubble. She didn't even have to think about it, her legs were already moving in the direction of the collapsed building.

When she arrived a crowd had gathered around the blast site and the police were setting up barricades.

"Do you think it's an attack, like ASIC or something?"

"Maybe it was an accident?"

"Didn't that crazy witch live in this place?"

Rei absentmindedly listened to the gossip of the people around her as she slowly moved to the front. She was hoping to get a look at the damage, but as she got closer she heard more people seemed to be more confused about what had happened. When she reached the barricade she found out why.

The building had been reduced to rubble, as she'd expected, but standing atop the ruins was a massive structure, reminiscent of an ancient Basilicom. The front of the structure dominated by a large open gateway that was completely shrouded in darkness...

But Rei could swear she saw something moving in the darkness.

* * *

Titus Em Varro had been ready for anything as he and his army marched through the Gate, or as ready for anything as a man could be. They were invading another world after all.

But nowhere in his wildest dreams had he been prepared for what he saw: towers of silver and purple that reached to the sky and roads that seemed better constructed then the great cobblestone highways of the Empire. This city far surpassed the majesty of any he'd seen back in Falmart: Rondel, Bellnahgo, even the great capital of Sadera paled in comparison!

"The legends were true." He whispered in awe as he continued to stare up at the massive towers. "We were promised a land of wealth beyond measure, but even I never imagined..." His voice trailed off, lost in wonder.

"Your orders sir?" The voice of his aid, a bald man by the name of Felix, pulled him back to his senses. He looked down to see his soldiers already moving into battle formation between himself and the... calling the locals before him an army seemed ludicrous, they looked more like a gaggle of commoners gawking at the glory of the Imperial Army, separated only by a flimsy wooden barrier.

Titus felt uncertainty stirring within his gut; these people could build structures that reached the clouds, yet they had no warriors to oppose the Empire. That felt wrong, and not just because it robbed him of a glorious victory over the new lands army.

Titus pushed the concerns from his mind, at least for the moment, and produced a scroll from his saddlebag. It was a message given to him by the Emperor himself and bore the seals of both the Imperial family and the Senate. It was a declaration of war. Titus drew in a breath and turned his gaze to the gathered crowd.

"All you savages listen well: we, the Saderan Empire, in the name of his Imperial Majesty Molt Sol Augustus, declare conquest and dominion of this world!"

Trumpets blared, drums thundered, wyverns roared, orders were shouted, war-cries unleashed.

The Imperial forces charged.

And thus the Battle of Planeptune began.

* * *

The four CPU's sat in complete silence. They'd been happily beating the stuffing out of Neptune's avatar when they'd felt the ground shaking. Now earthquakes weren't unheard of in Gamindustri, but they typically only happened during a major Event or a sudden, large shift in Share Energy. There was typically some kind of warning.

"So..." Neptune broke the silence. "Ya know how this chapter has basically been one giant event flag? I think it just triggered." Before the other goddesses could answer the door suddenly flew open and a panicked Histoire flew in.

"EVERYONE! EMERGENCY! WE HAVE AN EMERGENCY! TURN ON THE NEWS!" The living tome cried, frantically waving her arms. Vert, Noire, and Blanc immediately began scrambling to grab the remote, while Neptune simply sat there looking unamused. She'd seen this particular sequence plenty of times when in Plutia's dimension and it had gotten really old by now. After a brief scuffle Vert grabbed the remote and changed the TV over to the local news.

Every scene was one of utter chaos: hoards of monsters and men in armor were running amok, destroying everything and killing anyone they could catch. Large monsters armed with giant hammers smashed through groups of people, wyverns dived down and unleashed torrents of flame, the police were doing their best to stop the invaders but their light weaponry meant that they could only do so much before they were overwhelmed by the sheer number of foes that they were facing.

Noire's mouth fell open, Vert covered her mouth in shock, Blanc remained silent but clenched her fists in rage, Neptune just sat there, stunned by what she was watching. The CPU's were no strangers to war, in fact they'd spent most of their lives fighting for dominance in the Console War, but that was hundreds of years ago. The closest thing to a war that had occurred since then had been the conflict against ASIC, and that was nothing compared to this slaughter.

"What... what is happening?" Noire broke the silence, her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I do not know; I detected an unknown disturbance around the same time as the earthquake several minutes ago, but before I could investigate I found... this." Histoire explained sadly. It was clear that she was unhappy both with what was happening and her lack of information on the situation. A message appeared in the corner of the TV screen, informing the goddesses that Nepgear was trying to contact them.

"Thank goodness you answered." Nepgear said as her face appeared on the screen, she seemed relieved that Neptune and the other CPU's were safe.

"We're fine, how are Rom and Ram?" Blanc asked before anyone had a chance to speak, her voice was a mixture of concern and anger from worrying about her sisters.

"Don't worry, everyone is fine and Plutia is here to." Nepgear reassured them, turning her N-Gear's camera to show her companions; Rom and Ram were huddled close together while Uni stood behind them and Plutia stood off to the side.

"We're okay Blanc, we're not scared at all." Ram said, though the slight tremor in her voice made it clear she was lying. Rom didn't say anything, she simply held her sister even tighter. Plutia wrapped her arms around both of the twins, doing her best to comfort them.

"What the heck is going on, it sounds like the city is under attack or something?" Uni's question didn't receive an answer, but the silence and depressed looks were enough to tell her that she'd guessed correctly. Nepgear reappeared on the camera.

"Neptune, what do we do? Who the goodness is attacking us?" Nepgear asked, eyes wide with panic as she waited for her sisters orders.

Neptune just sat their, still seemingly in shock from everything that had suddenly happened. Everyone was looking at her, waiting for her to snap out of it and take charge of the situation, but she just continued to sit there and stare blankly at the screen.

"Alright, enough standing around. Let's get out there and crush these assholes!" Blanc shouted.

"We can't just rush in when we know nothing about our enemy. That's how we lost at the Graveyard." Vert countered.

"We can't do anything; this is a Planeptune issue, so legally we can't get involved." Noire intervened, ever the professional.

The room was consumed by a flash of light before the argument could continue, and when it faded Neptune had been replaced by Purple Heart. The CPU of Planeptune stood up from the couch and inhaled, preparing herself for everything that was to come.

"Alright; Histoire I want you to contact the police and tell them to get as many people out the enemies path as possible, contact the closest military forces and bring them up to speed on the situation, and have the Guild help however they can." Purple Heart ordered. Histoire nodded in confirmation, clearly happy to see this more mature side of Neptune. With that done Neptune turned her attention to her sister. "Nepgear; you and the others need to transform and get back to the Basilicom ASAP." The TV screen went white as the Candidates entered their HDD forms.

Unfortunately that also meant Iris Heart had come out to play.

"Don't worry Neppy~. I've said before that no one hurts any of you but me, and that rule still applies." The sadistic goddess said in her usual sultry tone, causing the Candidates to eye her nervously as the call ended. With that done Purple Heart turned to the other three CPU's.

"I don't want to ask any of you to get involved; like Noire said this is a Planeptune issue-" She was cut off when the three transformed.

"Save it, you know we wouldn't let you go into battle alone." Black Heart said.

"Indeed, this is more a matter of human decency than national interests." Green Heart Added.

"Come on! Lets go smash these bastards!" White Heart shouted. Other goddesses all cheered in agreement and the stepped out onto the apartment balcony.

They took off into the air, flying into battle with hearts filled with righteous fury.

* * *

**A.N. And thus this chapter comes to an end.**

**Okay, before I say anything I have to give a MASSIVE thank you to my Beta reader Porpol, who has been a major help with writing this story and with my confidence. Check out his profile when you have the time.**

**I've been wanting to do a GATE fic for a long time now and I've had a bunch of ideas for different stories and crossovers. In the end I decided the lighthearted world of moe adorableness that is the Neptunia series... welcome to FanFiction.**

**Okay, joking aside I really love both of these franchises; Neptunia never fails to make me laugh and as a military enthusiast I love how accurate GATE is, hence the reason why I've been trying to create a story for so long.**

**One thing I do want to clear up for the Neptunia fans: this story takes one year after the end of Victory/Re;Birth 3, but I will be mixing in some elements of the anime. The anime added some depth to the world that I really like and it would be a waste not to use them. None of the story has been changed, I'm just adding some stuff.**

**The same goes for GATE as well; both the manga and the anime do stuff I like so I'll be mixing them together.**

**In the next chapter we'll see the Battle of Planeptune: a glorious clash between the forces of the Saderan Empire and the CPU's of Gamindustri... Yeah, I couldn't keep a straight face while writing that. We're gonna see the CPU's turn a bunch of Imperial soldiers into ketchup.**

**I will also respond to reviews at the end of each chapter, so if you've got questions then you know where to put 'em.**

**That's all folks, I'm gonna start writing the next chapter and prepare for the reviews demanding I nuke the Empire that plague every GATE fic.**


	2. Prologue: The Battle of Planeptune

GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!

Prologue: The Battle of Planeptune

Colt Formal had enjoyed a rather comfortable life even by the standards of the Imperial nobility: He may have only been a Count ruling over a single city, but Italica was a major trade hub at the crossroads of two major highways surrounded by fertile farmland. As such, he enjoyed a higher level of prestige than most other men of his station, and his personal life had been equally blessed with three beautiful daughters and a staff full of Demi-Humans. The only true hardship he had suffered was the loss of his wife several years ago.

When the Gate opened, it was only natural that he joined the Imperial forces marching through. His lands were the closest and would be the most affected by whatever events occurred beyond, to say nothing of the wealth his city would gain from the loot being sold in Italica's markets. The prospect of adventure had also played a part, though it was rather irresponsible considering what would happen if he failed to return.

As Colt rode through the streets of this mysterious city his fears seemed unfounded; this "battle" was undoubtedly one of the easiest victories in the history of the Empire. These people had nothing to defend themselves with, save for those strange mages and their fire magic, but everyone in the Empire knew that military technology had surpassed magic a long time ago.

"Count Formal!" A voice calling his name brought him back from his thoughts. He turned to see two younger men riding towards him and recognized them Viscount Herm Fule Maio and Gaius Co Palesti, first son of the prominent Marquis Palesti. Herm had long blond hair that he kept slicked back while Gaius had a short military shave that left him nearly bald.

"Viscount Maio, Lord Palesti." Colt returned the greeting with a polite bow of his head. "What brings you here? Should you not be leading your own soldiers?" The elder noble asked.

"There's not much to do unfortunately. These Otherworlders don't seem to have any sort of army to defend them, so all we have to do is keep our forces moving towards their palace." Gaius replied, though he sounded disappointed. He and many other young nobles had been sent through the Gate as the spearhead of the invasion under General Titus so they could gain experience and glory fighting in the new world. It was understandable that they would feel cheated by the enemies lack of resistance.

"It seems that no matter what world we fight, in the Imperial Army will always be superior to savages like these." Herm said with pride, though he kept his voice respectful. Colt had become very skilled at reading body language in his years of politics, and Herm's body language practically screamed 'servility' to the two superior nobles.

"I'd hardly call them savages." Colt replied, gesturing to the large building around them. Any one of them far surpassed even the greatest of Saderan architecture, to say nothing of the massive tower that their forces were currently marching towards.

"Pretty buildings mean nothing." Herm scoffed "There were plenty of other nations that built great structures before, and the Empire brought them to heel. If anything, comparing these cowards to our past foes is an insult to our previous victories. These people do nothing but run, and their cowardly mages fight from a distance." The young Viscount spat in disgust.

Colt could agree with him somewhat; the fact that these people did nothing but run was staining what should have been a glorious moment for the Empire. This was supposed to be the first of many battles to conquer a new world, not some mindless slaughter.

"Perhaps they have no need for an army..." Gaius said thoughtfully. The young Marquis-to-be had been staring off at the massive palace in the distance, with an equally distant look on his face.

"What do you mean Lord Gaius? How could they not need an army?" Herm asked, his voice once again dropping into a respectful tone.

"It's just a theory, but what if we're standing in the capital of an empire that has done what Sadera has always aspired to and conquered this world?" Gaius proposed. "It makes sense—where else could they get the resources to build such magnificent structures? And it would explain why they don't seem to have any soldiers, because they don't need them. Perhaps... perhaps this is the future of Sadera." Gaius finished his explanation, once again staring off at the great palace.

Herm remained silent, but Colt could tell it was not because he had nothing to say but because what he wanted to say would greatly conflict with what Gaius had said. Colt found himself pleasantly surprised by the young noble's words; he had heard rumors that the first son of the Palesti family was a genius in more ways than one, and he was glad to see that they had not been an exaggeration. A part of him even hoped that Gaius was correct, then they could finish up this conquest quickly, maybe even force the entire world to surrender in a matter of days.

Perhaps he could even bring Myui to visit once all was said and done.

* * *

"_I'm going to die._"

Those words flashed through Haruna's mind as she lay paralyzed on the ground, watching helplessly as a massive creature with an equally large hammer stood over her. She had been running for her life along with everyone else trying to escape the horde of monsters chasing them, but she had fallen and bruised her knee. Now all she could do was lay there and watch as death approached her.

And pray for a miracle.

"_Lady Purple Heart, someone, anyone... help me…_"

The beast swung the hammer down, and Haruna's eyes snapped shut, waiting for death.

Haruna flinched as a loud crashing sound filled the air, but despite it there wasn't any pain. Had she been killed so quickly she hadn't felt it? Her eyes slowly cracked open, expecting to find herself in the afterlife, but instead she found that she was still in Planeptune City.

With the Goddess herself standing over her.

Haruna gasped as she found herself staring up at the form of Lady Purple Heart, who was standing between her and the monster that had been seconds away from ending her life, with the beast staring at its now splintered hammer in confusion. Haruna felt a pair of hands grab her from behind, and she was dragged back to a crowd that she was certain had not been there before.

The monster roared and angrily swung its arm at the purple Goddess but struck only air as Lady Purple Heart ducked under the attack and swung her blade diagonally, cleaving the creature in half and sending its upper body flying into the air. The crowd behind Haruna cheered while the invading soldiers stopped in their tracks, surprised by this mysterious woman who had just slain an orc. As the cheers died down and silence filled the air, Lady Purple Heart leveled her sword at the invaders and made her declaration.

"You will bring no harm to my people."

* * *

Wyvern Riders had a reputation amongst Imperial soldiers for being egotistical, and as far as Caelum was concerned, they deserved it. They had a view of the world that was typically reserved for birds and the gods. From up here, he could see the entirety of the massive city that the Imperial forces found themselves in, and he could imagine that it was far more amazing than any pathetic infantryman could imagine.

He and his squadron had been sent ahead to scout the large tower that was likely the enemy's palace, though considering the lack of resistance the ground forces were facing, he could imagine himself and his Squadron smashing into the building and flying the enemy lord back to General Titus with no difficulty whatsoever. Caelum smiled at the thought before noticing his wingman, Nubes, was waving signal flags in his direction.

Caelum squinted his eyes as he attempted to identify the signal when what looked like a bolt of lightning blew a hole through the Wyvern and reduced Nubes to a red mist. Caelum recoiled in shock when a flash of light and a roar of pain informed him that another of his comrades had fallen. Before he could process this, there was a third flash and he was alone.

The fourth flash was the last thing he saw.

* * *

Dolor was a simple man looking to make his way through life, so like many young men he had joined the Imperial Army. Stable pay, a chance to see the world, opportunities for plunder, and great benefits when they retired. Who wouldn't sign up for that? He'd been in the Legion for three years now and most of that time had been spent marching and training, occasionally broken up by putting down a rebellion or fighting bandits. It wasn't an easy job, but it was a simple one.

His reaction to the Gate opening had been mixed. On one hand, he had joined the Legion for adventure, and what better adventure was there than exploring a new world? But on the other hand, he had no idea what was on the other side of the Gate, so the chances of him coming back were a lot lower than the usual battle. Even though things had been easy so far, he wasn't going to let his guard down, Dolor had seen too many idiots die because they didn't take a fight seriously.

And the Being in front of him was not going to be an easy fight.

The entire Century gawked at the sight of the Being that had stopped an orc in its tracks. It looked like a young woman, and a rather attractive one at that, but it was clearly more than that. Its clothing, its eyes, its wings, its massive sword, and the fact that it could kill an orc had all proven that this was not a woman. Dolor heard the soldiers around him begin to murmur nervously as the crowd of Otherworlders cheered and the Being adopted a fighting stance, and he heard the word "Apostle" circulating amongst his own men.

"Quiet! All you maggots quiet down and get back in formation!" The Centurion shouted, and Dolor felt his body moving into place almost automatically as his training kicked in. The rest of the Century quickly moved back into formation, forming a wall of shields eight men wide and ten men deep. Dolor leveled his spear at the being in front of him, his fear subsiding as he felt the strength of his brothers-in-arms joining with him. They were Legion: if one man fell, then there were ten more waiting to take his place. No foe could stand before their numbers.

"Century, attaAARGH!"

Dolor looked back to see what had interrupted the Centurions' order, and his blood froze when he saw a second being, this one with white hair, standing over the corpse of his commander, who had been slashed in two. Unfortunately with the Centurion dead, there was no one to remind him to about the enemy in front of him, which means he never saw the blow that killed him.

* * *

"We can't just rush in when we know nothing about our enemy. That's how we lost at the Graveyard."

Vert's words had stuck in the CPU's minds as they flew into battle. She was right after all; they were fighting an enemy that they had no information on, and for all they knew another CFW Magic could be lurking among their ranks. So they had split into groups of two on the way to the battlefield. That way if they did run into something like Magic, the group that encountered it would have a better chance of warning the others.

That was how Noire and Neptune got into their current situation; fighting together against hordes of invaders. Their goal wasn't to stop the attack entirely, but to slow it down until the civilians were evacuated and Planeptune's army could establish a cordon around the invading forces. After that, it was simply a matter of tightening the noose.

It wasn't even a fight; their enemies were falling like wheat before the scythe as the CPUs cut through the invaders two or three at a time. The monsters put up a better fight, and sometimes a soldier would get lucky and manage to land a hit only for it to bounce off the barrier generated by her Guard, but so far the battle had been a one-sided slaughter. A small part of Noire admired their courage, as they kept attacking no matter how many of their comrades fell, but another part of her was very annoyed at their stubbornness.

A loud roar split the air and Noire looked up to see a group of wyverns diving towards herself and Neptune. The invading soldiers cheered in joy at the sight of the incoming monsters while Black Heart clicked her tongue in annoyance. She and Purple Heart couldn't afford to be split up, and it would take them a few minutes to deal with those creatures on their own, but if they both went after them that would leave their enemies free to continue advancing.

Thankfully the problem soon resolved itself as the Wyverns were destroyed by a hail of energy blasts. Noire turned towards the direction the blasts came from and saw Nepgear and Uni flying towards them. "What are you doing here? We told you to return to the Basilicom!" Black Heart shouted to the two approaching Candidates.

"Did you really think we were going to just sit back while you fought these guys?" Uni shot back with an unusual barb in her voice as she and Nepgear leveled their weapons at the opposing army.

"Nepgear, we have this under—"

"Uni and I aren't going anywhere!" Nepgear cut her sister off, shocking both her sister and Noire. "You're our sisters, and we're not just going to sit back while you do all the fighting... Not again..." Purple Sister's voice cracked as she finished. Uni's face dropped as well. It was clear that they were haunted by the shadow of the Gamindustri Graveyard just as their older sisters were.

Noire and Neptune shared an uncertain glance. They'd accepted a long time ago that they couldn't keep their sisters safe for the harshness of the world, but they'd hoped to save them from the horrors of war. The Console War was undoubtedly the darkest point in their lives, and the thought of their sisters experiencing something similar chilled them to the bone. But at the same time it was clear that Nepgear and Uni weren't going to back down. So, reluctantly, they nodded to each other in solemn agreement.

"Alright." Purple Heart sighed heavily, her entire body seeming to sag as the weight of the decision she had just made came down on her.

"Try to focus on their officers; the whole army to will shatter without their leadership." Noire ordered, doing her best to hide her own sorrow behind professionalism. Uni and Nepgear nodded in agreement and the four turned their attention back to their enemies, who had been kind enough to stand motionless in shock while the CPUs worked out their family issues.

* * *

"It seems I was wrong." Gaius Co Palesti murmured grimly as the trail of panicked soldiers came rushing past. It was clear that his theory about this place being some demilitarized super-empire was wrong. Painfully wrong in fact, if the stories his men were telling about strange women with inhuman power were true. Gaius felt himself shaking at the thought; several weeks before the Gate opened he'd attended a religious demonstration hosted by the Apostle of Emroy, Rory Mercury, in which she killed dozens of convicted criminals in the name of her god.

If the other-worlders had something like an Apostle on their side...

"Tell the Cohort that we're changing direction. We'll begin marching to the north-east and bypass the enemy, then make our way to the enemy citadel." Gaius ordered his aid, who nodded and left to deliver the commands.

This city wasn't built with defense in mind; a defensible city would have its streets built in a way that made it difficult to reach the central keep, but this city seemed to have been built to make the keep easily accessible. Thinking back, Gaius realized that this was likely a holy city like Bellnahgo, it would certainly explain the grand architecture and the lack of guards. Perhaps the mages were in fact priests or holy knights?

Those were questions for later. Right now, he had to worry about winning this battle. Gaius rode to the front of his unit, leading his men as they marched on their new course. Hopefully the Empire's other forces would be able to keep the Apostles preoccupied long enough for his men to reach the temple. Maybe if he could capture a priest or an official or someone important he could force a ceasefire? He wasn't sure—there were still too many unknowns—all he knew was he had to end this battle before the Apostles noticed his move.

"Double time it men, we have to reach the enemy citadel!" He shouted, urging his men to move faster as they neared a corner that he was certain would lead them to their destination—

Only to find a barricade manned by more of those strange mages, armed with much larger staves.

Gaius' life flashed before his eyes as the mages unleashed their death magic: studying in the family library, attending parties with his mother, learning swordsmanship from his father, seeing Bozes initiated into the Knights of the Rose—

Bozes.

As he tumbled from his horse and the world faded, Gaius Co Palesti thanked the Gods that the Knights of the Rose were only used as an honor guard, or else his sister would likely be here.

* * *

The battle was coming to an end: Planeptune's army had encircled the invading forces and was quickly driving them back through the Gate from which they came. The enemy was cut down by machine guns, helicopters swatted their wyverns from the sky like bugs, tanks blasted apart cavalry as the horsemen tried to charge them, and any foe foolish enough to face the CPUs was reduced to a pile of meat on the ground. The enemy was still trying to resist, but the threat to the city was effectively neutralized.

Which meant Iris Heart had plenty of time to play.

"Come on boys~, are any of you man enough to face me?" The sadistic goddess challenged the soldiers surrounding her in a mocking tone. It had taken her a little bit to get used to how delicate these people were. She was so used to playing with Neppy and the others that she had accidentally broken the first few soldiers she had tried to play with. Thankfully, she had plenty to practice on.

She'd adapted her methods now; the man she was idly strangling was proof of that. She'd been holding him in the air for a solid minute and hadn't accidentally crushed his windpipe yet. It was certainly progress, but she wished she could go further.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem like there were any soldiers willing to fight her. In fact, it looked like they were about to retreat. That was fine; chasing rabbits was half the fun. Iris Heart prepared to execute the man in her grasp when a man suddenly pushed his way through the ranks, shouting and pointing his sword at her. Iris Heart raised an eyebrow, intrigued by the mans boldness. Most of his comrades were quaking in fear, but he seemed angry, his eyes darting between the CPU and her captive.

Iris Heart looked at the man she had in her grasp—who was turning quite blue—and then looked back at the man challenging her. They looked very similar; both with strong jaws, blue eyes, and hook noses. They were likely related, possibly even brothers. Iris Heart licked her lips at the thought; it wasn't nearly as good as her fantasy of getting to play with one of the CPUs and their sister at the same time, but it was still amusing.

Iris Heart smirked at the challenger and momentarily loosened her grip on his relative's neck, causing him to gasp as he received a small breath of air. "Come and get me," she said in a sultry voice, motioning with her free hand. The challenger let out a furious roar and charged at her, his sword swinging for her neck.

It was so slow.

She calmly reached out her hand and caught the blade between her fingers, though to anyone watching, the movement would have been a blur. The soldier's expression changed from rage to shock to terror as he processed what had just happened, his head frantically darting between his trapped blade and the smiling Iris Heart.

"My, how pitifully dull of you to challenge _me, _a Goddess… But, I don't dislike idiots. You are just my type."

She twisted her left wrist, breaking her prisoner's neck. She then twisted her right wrist, breaking the sword and sending a hail of metal splinters into the challengers face. His last sight would be his relative's corpse dropping limply from her hand.

* * *

Running from White Heart was pointless. You would only die tired.

The Imperial soldiers were unaware of this, so they wound up like the poor bastard currently trying to crawl away from her. He'd had friends a few moments ago, but White Heart had reduced them to mince meat while he ran. He had eventually gotten tired and collapsed, and now here they were: him, panting for breath, while White Heart stood over him.

"What's the matter? Can't breathe under all that heavy armor?" White Heart growled, glaring down at the man at her feet and hefting her axe.

"Don't worry, you won't need to breathe when you're dead!" She brought her axe down and reduced his head to a smear on the pavement. She pulled the weapon up and turned around to where Vert, Rom, and Ram were finishing off their respective foes. The street they'd just fought their way through was littered with corpses: some had been slashed and stabbed with a level of precision that it almost seemed elegant, others had been frozen solid or impaled by a hail of icicles, and even more looked as though they'd been in some kind of industrial accident.

"It seems we're done here," Green Heart said as she and the twins joined Blanc. Blanc's stomach turned over as she saw Rom and Ram. Despite the fact that they fought at range, their white CPU forms were stained by blood. It was sickening; not because they had killed, since all the Candidates had killed people while fighting ASIC, but there was difference between killing a group of thugs who can fight back and mowing down an entire army like a Killachine. They were probably gonna have nightmares once the adrenaline wore off...

"Blanc?" Green Heart said cautiously when her fellow CPU didn't respond.

"You keep pushing forward, I'm ending this." White Heart said as her wings materialized, the note of finality in her voice making it clear that she wasn't in the mood to argue. Vert sighed as Blanc took off into the air, her sisters called after her but knew better than to follow her.

As White Heart flew over the city she took the time to observe the enemy's positions, and she had to admit she was impressed: they'd begun forming makeshift barriers using cars and junk in preparation for the imminent attack, and she could see them taking men from the units that had been routed earlier and re-organizing them into new formations. Whoever was leading this army was clearly very skilled.

He needed to die.

And unfortunately for him, he wasn't hard to spot. He was wearing black armor with a white cape and red crest on his helmet. He might as well have painted a target on his head. White Heart created a platform of Share energy beneath her feet and launched herself towards her target, roaring at the top of her lungs as she barreled through the air.

Titus Em Varro, The Empire's greatest general, hero of the Battle of Espara, a man never defeated in battle, and personal friend of both the Emperor and Rory Mercury, died screaming at the top of his lungs as White Heart came crashing down on top of him.

* * *

Titus was dead.

Colt Formal nearly fainted from the shock when the news hit him. Titus had never been beaten, not even when he was outnumbered and outflanked at Espara. He was the greatest strategist in centuries. He had defeated a Centaur Horde with barely any losses. He had crushed the Alliance of Free Cities in less than a year. He was a friend of Rory Mercury! He...

He was their only hope. Now that he was gone...

"Retreat." Colt whispered turning to what remained of his soldiers. "Go! All of you! Retreat! Back to the Gate!" He screamed, spurring his horse forward into a full gallop, not even waiting to for his men to follow him. He wasn't going to die in this charnel house, fighting hopelessly against these people and their Gods-damned Apostles! He had a city to care for and a daughter who still needed him!

But as the old saying goes, "if you wish to make the Gods laugh, then tell them your plans." For at that moment the ground next to him erupted, one of the many spells he had become agonizingly familiar with in the past hours, and sent him flying through the air. He landed in a stunned heap, a high pitched shriek ringing in his ears as he struggled to rise to his feet. As his vision cleared and he staggered up from the ground he saw the sight of several of his own men running to help him.

Unfortunately before they could get close they were eviscerated by a blur of purple and black. Colt blinked a few times and shook his head, trying to clear his vision. When he opened his eyes he found himself face-to-face with one of the enemy Apostles. She was very young, perhaps a few years older than his daughter Myui, and was wearing clothing that... left little to the imagination. Were she not an Apostle he would have considered her outfit shamefully voyeuristic. The girl quickly leveled her sword at him Colt could see it had one of the bizarre staves used by enemy mages somehow worked into its hilt.

"降伏!" The girl said in a commanding voice, but it sounded... almost shaky, and Colt could have sworn he saw reluctance in her eyes. He was likely wrong—how could a man know anything about the mind of a god? It was probably a product of his desperation; he didn't know how this world's faith worked, but if the purple on her clothing had any relation to the purple in the city's architecture, then this was her city they had attacked. He was going to die, there was no question of that, and even if the Gods of his world could claim ownership of his soul he would have died in battle. He would be the property of Emroy and never join his wife in the Underworld.

But perhaps he could still protect his people.

He closed his eyes and began to pray.

"Emroy, Dark Lord of War, please accept my soul as an offering."

His hand moved to the hilt of his sword.

"やめなさい、私にあなたを殺させないでください!" The Apostle's voice seemed to crack as she once again gave orders in a language he could not understand.

"Should these people cross through the Gate, then send your Apostle Rory Mercury to protect my Italica."

His eyes opened, filled with the fire of conviction as he drew his blade.

"刀を落としなさい!"

"Do not let my city suffer at their hands!"

Colt Formal swung at the Apostle.

Purple Sister fired.

* * *

The Battle of Planeptune was over.

The last of the invaders had either been killed, captured, or fled back through the Gate. They were still counting the damage, but it was estimated that two-thousand civilians were killed, injured, or missing. The damage would have been much worse if the CPUs hadn't been so quick to respond. The invaders had suffered even worse, though their casualties were going to take much longer to count. Unfortunately the source of all that death and destruction was still in existence.

Purple Heart hovered in front of the Gate, fixing the structure with a look of utter contempt. She wanted more than anything to destroy the accursed structure, but that would have to wait until later; they were still busy searching the rubble around the Gate for survivors, then they could start searching for a way to destroy it. She'd also promised Blanc that she could take some swings at it as well, and the other CPUs had returned to their nations in case the Invaders tried again.

Purple Heart was glad she was in her HDD form. She didn't know how her human self would deal with the mixture of grief and fury currently raging in her heart. The Goddess of Planeptune closed her eyes and clenched her fist to her chest. She was supposed to protect these people, but in the past five years, her country and the world had been attacked by malevolent forces...

"Nep-Nep, I found something!"

Purple Heart looked down from where she was floating to the rubble below, where various emergency workers and volunteers were sifting through the debris. Compa wasn't technically supposed to be here since she was a nurse and not an EMT, but she was someone with both medical training and the strength to move some of the larger rocks on her own, so they'd let her help out.

"What did you find?" Purple Heart asked as she flew down.

"I think there's someone under here, but I can't move this on my own." Compa explained, pointing to a particularly large slab of concrete. Purple Heart hovered over and, after examining the rock to make sure it was safe to move, picked it up and moved it out of the way. She turned back to check on the person she'd just unearthed and was met with an unexpected sight.

"MAGES.?!"

* * *

**A.N. And thus this chapter comes to an end.**

**So now we know the truth; MAGES. opened the Gate to unleash an army and scour the world for Doc P! Thankfully the CPU's stopped her before she could gain any ground. Thanks for reading and goodbye.**

**Okay, time to be serious.**

**First, as always, I'd like to thank my Beta Porpol for his hard work on this chapter. He's not a fan of fight scenes or intense violence so I ****appreciate his help on this chapter.**

**Second I just want to say that I did not expect the massive amount of positive feedback or popularity this story has received: twelve reviews and over five-hundred views! I figured it would take months and multiple chapters to for this story since it's two niche fanbases, but not only was a wrong, but there are people saying that they've been waiting for a story like this!**

**But it's not all good. Most of the reviews are the typical "Fuck the Empire!" reviews that you see in every Gate fic, and while I am happy to get reviews it is disheartening that no one seemed to pay any attention to the other parts of the story. The whole reason I got a Beta was because I was worried about my ability to accurately portray the Neptunia cast and I hid several hints to future events in the previous chapter (and in this one as well) but no one seems to care. I'm not saying I don't want "Fuck the Empire!" reviews, any review is a good review in my opinion, I'm just asking for some feedback on the other parts of my story as well.**

**Random Military Facts (I'll be adding these in every AN to talk about various military-related things that I feel are relevant to the story):**

**Did you know that a Roman soldier had a longer life expectancy than most Romans? The army offered stable pay, medical care, food, shelter, a great pension, and the training was great exercise. This was how Rome was able to raise such large armies and replenish massive losses, especially after the Marian Reforms. Assuming the Saderan Empire is similar, and I've seen nothing to suggest major differences, then the average Imperial is likely some kid who was signed up to get out of poverty and help their family.**

**Responding to Reviews:**

**General 1: I'm not nuking the Empire; partially for moral reasons and because it would destroy their government and the entire Empire would collapse into anarchy. It's the same reason the US didn't nuke Tokyo; a country can't surrender if it's government has been destroyed. Also, why would you waste something as expensive as a nuke on a bunch of ****Iron Age primitives who can be easily beaten with conventional weapons?**

**General 2: Iris Heart is not worse than a nuke. There was a man who survived the Hiroshima bombing and grew up to be an animator, and he made a VERY graphic animation that showed exactly what he saw when the bomb hit. After seeing that I can say with 100% certainty that Iris Heart is not worse than a nuke.**

**Rougedragon: I got three things to say, if you want to debate any of this send me a PM-**

**1\. The Imperial soldiers are not all "rapist pigs" I've read the manga and the first volume of the light novel (which I do not recommend) and there's no mention of anyone being raped during the Battle of Ginza. In fact the only times there's any mention of rape throughout the series are with bandits and Zorzal's forces, at which point the quality of the army had taken a nosedive. Sorry, but I'll be portraying the Imperial army as actual human beings, not a hord of rapist megalomaniac cartoon characters like most stories.**

**2\. Imperial soldiers would not feel "confidence and lust" when seeing a CPU, because they're so alien to what any of them would have seen before that the human brain would suppress all other reactions beyond "fight or flight."**

**3\. I don't think people would start worshipping the CPU's simply because they wouldn't know how. The gods of Falmart are all classic pagan gods with specific ****attributes: if you're fighting in a battle you pray to Emroy, if you want fertility you pray to Miritta, if you are a smith you pray to Duncan, etc. The CPU's don't have any of those attributes so I doubt people in the Special Region would know how to prey to them.**

**TheAzureKnight: Thank you so much for reminding me of that potential plot point. Rory shall suffer a fate worse than Iris Heart! MWAHAHAHAHA!**

**doom2099: No, none of the JSDF characters will be appearing. I've got my hands full with the Neptunia and Special Region characters so it would just make things more complicated, and frankly there's no place for them. Also, the only reason Itami is able to ****achieve anything is because he's got Main Character status. Without that he'd be dead, thrown out, or moved to a desk job. And since this is the Neptunia series he'd have to fight Nep for MC status, which would end with him as a stain on the wall.**


	3. Prologue: Preparing For War

GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!

Prologue: Preparing For War

It has been two weeks since the Battle of Planeptune.

Things had been quiet since the attack. No new Gates appeared in any of the other nations and nothing else had tried to come through the Gate in Planeptune. After the battle was over, the Guild was tasked to gather information on the invaders. The damage report wasn't as bad as it could have been: Two-thousand of Planeptune's civilians and first responders had been killed or injured in the attack, while the invaders had lost and estimated amount of thirty thousand men, six thousand of whom had been captured after the battle ended. The CPU's refused to let their guard down and had deployed military units to patrol their capitals.

But despite losing people in the attack Planeptune had actually gained Shares. The sight of their famously lazy CPU descending from the heavens to drive off the invaders had raised the people's faith in their Goddess. In fact all of the nations had seen a boost in their Share Energy from the incident, though the morbid circumstances made this boon bittersweet.

Planeptune had also been running like a well-oiled machine ever since the attack: repairs, prison management, military mobilization, and other paperwork that would have gathered dust for weeks were completed in record speed. It seemed that the attack had finally gotten Neptune to start taking her duties seriously.

That had been Noire's first sign something was wrong. The second was when she received a message from Nepgear that could be summarized as "I need help with Neptune, please come over."

Noire and Uni were currently riding the elevator up to Neptune's apartment. Noire felt a slight twinge of deja vu, likely from when she'd come over two weeks ago, but pushed it out of her mind as the doors opened. The two stepped out of the elevator and were immediately greeted by a nervous looking Nepgear, the dark bags under her eyes making it clear she was in desperate need of some sleep. Upon seeing her girlfriend's state Uni immediately ran over and gave her a hug.

"Are you okay?" Uni asked with a note of worry in her voice. She and Nepgear separated, but they still held each other's hands.

"I'm okay." Nepgear replied, giving Uni a soft reassuring smile. "Neptune... she's been in HDD since the incident, and she hasn't been sleeping much either." Nepgear said, though it was clear she felt a little guilty about telling them something was wrong with her sister.

"You mean Neptune's been in HDD for two weeks?! Doesn't she know that's insane." Noire asked nervously. HDD burns a lot of energy, so staying in that form for two weeks was dangerous.

"I think she's trying to avoid being in her human form for too long." Nepgear proposed, and Noire had to admit it made sense. Neptune was an emotional and immature person, not a good combination for the current situation. The fact her more mature form was actually continuing the plan despite being aware of how self-destructive it was only made the situation more serious.

But that still left one question.

"So why did you ask me for help?" Noire asked, though the blush on her face and nervousness in her voice hinted that she may already know the answer.

"W-Well… I already tried talking to her, so I thought that since you two are..." Nepgear's voice trailed off awkwardly, a soft blush on her face. It took Noire a second to catch on, but once she did her face quickly changed to match the Planeptune candidate.

"S-So you only called me because Neptune and I are..." Noire's voice became softer and softer as she continued before it finally faded away. Coincidentally her face was growing redder and redder. It wasn't like she and Neptune were a couple or anything! They just hung out a lot… and hugged a lot… and there were times when Noire got lost in her bright amethyst- NO! STAY FOCUSED NOIRE!

Nepgear opened her mouth to answer and took a step forward, but she stumbled before she could say anything. Thankfully, Uni caught her. It was clear as daylight that Nepgear was more fatigued than she let on. It was also enough to convince Noire to take accept her request.

"Okay, I'll talk to Neptune. B-But it's just because you asked, not because I'm worried." Noire snapped, though she immediately regretted it. This was one of the problems she was having with Neptune; it was hard for her to open up. "Uni, why don't you take Nepgear to bed. She looks like she could use the rest." Noire advised quickly.

"Got it." Uni nodded. "Let's go, Nepgear. You need some shuteye." With a slight blush, she walked away towards Nepgear's room, the purple Candidate giving Noire a quick "Thank you" as she staggered away.

A small part of Noire was suspicious of leaving the two alone in a room together, but that worry died in seconds. They were two mature and intelligent girls who were way too easily embarrassed to do something like that. Noire had more pressing matters to worry about.

Specifically how she was going to deal with Neptune.

Noire began formulating a plan as she walked through Neptune's home. Purple Heart was intelligent and reasonable, so convincing her to change back to her human form should be simple enough if she chose the right words. Once she was back to her human form things would be difficult.

Noire pulled herself out of her thoughts long enough to register that she was walking past the door to Neptune's balcony, and as she glanced through the glass door she could see the CPU of Planeptune looking out at her city.

Noire took a breath, steeling herself and hoping she'd prepared for this. As she pushed the door open Purple Heart turned around and Noire saw just how bad she was. Her cheeks were noticeably sunken and there were heavy bags under her eyes.

"Noire? What are you doing here?" Purple Heart asked in a surprised, but pleasant tone.

"Nepgear asked me to speak with you." Noire replied, sliding the door shut behind her and walking towards the CPU. "Neptune, what are you thinking? You know spending all this time in HDD isn't healthy." Noire decided that the best option was to hit her hard and fast. Shove the truth in her face so she couldn't hide from it.

The plan seemed to work; if the look of surprise on Purple Heart's face was any indication she'd been caught completely off-guard. "Planeptune is in a state of emergency, and in my human form is too immature to manage that. It's more efficient to use my HDD form." Purple Heart replied, though the shaky tone of her voice made it clear she didn't fully believe that.

"And the fact that it helps with the emotional stress?" Noire asked pointedly. Purple Heart opened her mouth to respond, then closed it and looked at the ground. Her eyes were shadowed but Noire could tell she was getting through to her.

"I understand that you want to avoid the pain Neptune, we all feel horrible about what happened, but what you're doing is self-destructive." Purple Heart's shoulders sagged more. She would probably change back on her own in a few moments, but something in Noire told her to keep going. She stepped forward and took hold of Neptune's hand.

"Think about what it's like for your friends to watch you tormenting yourself, think about your sister…" Noire slowly lowered her gaze. "Think about me..." She quietly added. Noire had no idea where that had come from. Typically when she showed that level of vulnerability she's follow it up with a "it's not like I care" or something similar, but there was no way she could deny what she had just said. There was a part of her that was screaming in terror at this level of openness, but a larger part of herself knew that she had to show Neptune total openness if she wanted her plan to work.

Purple Heart vanished in a flash of light, and was replaced by a very malnourished Neptune. The lilac haired CPU looked up, her tired amethyst eyes meeting Noire soft ruby ones. Several expressions flashed across Neptune's face as she was hit with the storm of emotions she'd been hiding from hit her full force.

A few moments later Neptune pulled Noire into a hug and buried her face in the taller CPU's shirt as she began crying. Noire froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. Her usual snobby attitude was a facade, a cover to hide how much she cared, but now she needed to be completely open. She needed to comfort Neptune.

Then something just... clicked. One arm wrapped itself around the crying CPU while the other began gently stroking her hair.

Their relationship was a young thing, and they hadn't had much time to explore it. But every now and then they had moments like these; moments where everything just clicked. It was those moments that made their relationship worth all the trouble.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Leanbox...

IF suppressed a yawn as she followed Chika through the halls of the Basilicom. The Guild Agent had been working almost non-stop since the Gate opened, helping the organization gather information on the incident and the mysterious attackers. She'd been about to head home when she'd received a message from the Leanbox Oracle asking her to come over.

That had been a surprise. IF and Chika weren't exactly friends. In fact Chika could barely tolerate her, so getting a request to come to Leanbox was one of the last things IF had expected. It either meant that something was wrong with Vert, or Chika had gone full Yandere and was planning to murder her. It was likely the first, since Chika seemed unhappy about the situation. It was clear from the way she was walking; she typically walked in an over-exaggerated fashion, trying to imitated the grace that came naturally to Vert. Now she was trudging along with IF in tow, occasionally grumbling in frustration as they approached Vert's room.

"Do you know why I called you here?" Chika asked as they reached the door. IF raised an eyebrow.

"No, you just told me to come here and said 'follow me' when I arrived. You didn't even say hello." IF replied bluntly. She didn't like being left in the dark, that, combined with Chika's hostility, and her own tiredness was grating on her patience.

"Well, I'm certain you're aware that Vert has been distant since the incident in Planeptune. In fact she's barely touched her computer or her consoles in weeks." IF wasn't entirely surprised by this news. Vert's blog and livestream had been silent since the invasion, and her clan had been on a losing streak. It did unnerve her that Vert hadn't done any gaming in half a month though. IF couldn't go five minutes without her cell phone, she didn't want to know what would happen if Vert didn't game for two weeks.

"For reasons I cannot fathom she is very fond of... you. So I was hoping that you could speak with her." Chika finished with a note of clear disdain in her voice. IF chose to ignore it and focus on the request she'd just made. Chika absolutely loathed IF's relationship with Vert; in her mind the girl was an intruder. So the fact that she was asking IF for help told her just how worried she was.

"If you wanted me to talk to Lady Vert then all you had to do was ask." IF replied, hoping that she could avoid an argument.

"I'm aware. I simply didn't want you getting the idea that I approve of you throwing yourself at my darling Vert." Chika replied haughtily. IF ignored the insult again and instead walked past Chika and pushed the door open. "And don't think that I'll be leaving you alone in there either! I'm not giving you the chance to try anything indecent!" IF turned her head to glare at Chika, ready to give the Oracle a piece of her mind for the accusation.

"That's quite enough, Chika."

The two girls turned to see Vert standing by the door, looking rather amused at the scene before her. Chika was the first to recover from the surprise and quickly tried to defend herself. "Lady Vert, you can't honestly believe that I would leave you alone with this—" Vert cut off her protest by politely signaling her to stop.

"I'm a mature woman, Chika. I can take care of myself." Vert said as she walked over and gently closed the door, making it rather clear that she wanted to be alone with IF. "Sorry about that. Chika can be a little overprotective." Vert apologized as she walked back into her room, motioning for IF to follow.

"Don't worry; I'm used to her. I do wish she'd stop talking about me like I'm a street kid though." IF replied casually as she took a seat on the couch. She was a little surprised that her head wasn't immediately shoved between Vert's "assets" but recovered quickly.

"I'm going to prepare some tea. Would you like some too?" Vert offered.

"Yes please." IF accepted politely. It had taken her a long time to get used to talking to Vert like a normal person, but she'd gotten better at it over the years. Also, she was rather tired right now. That made it difficult to remain formal. After a few minutes of idle conversation Vert took a seat on the couch and handed IF a cup of tea.

"So, how are you doing?" The brunette asked carefully. She knew that all four of the CPU's were being affected by the attack on Planeptune, so she wanted to make sure she wasn't pushing the matter too hard.

"I admit I've been a little... off-balance since the incident, but I doubt it's as bad a Chika made it out to be." Vert replied with her usual smile. "I do appreciate that she's concerned about me, but she can be a bit over dramatic." The CPU remarked as she took a sip of her tea. IF chose not to comment and simply nodded in agreement.

"But how are you doing Iffy? It must have been horrible seeing the city torn apart so soon after it was rebuilt." Vert asked, giving the younger girl an appraising look.

"I wasn't in the city when the attack happened. I was investigating a Dungeon for the Guild." IF explained, a clear note of frustration in her voice. She was very irritated that she'd been unable to protect the city when it was attacked.

"And what have you been doing since then? You look tired." Vert continued questioning her. IF raised an eyebrow, curious about where Vert was going with her line of inquiry.

"Yeah, the Intelligence Division has been running everyone ragged trying to learn everything we can about the guys who attacked us." IF sighed, stretching to stave off the drowsiness working its way back into her body. "They've even got scouts like me doing interrogations, and that's causing more problems than it's solving..." her voice trailed off as a particular incident came to mind.

"I actually caught a couple of guys saying they were gonna lock some prisoners in a room with Plutia." She sighed again in agitation. It was unlikely that those agents would actually be allowed to use Plutia, but it was still irritating.

Vert hummed thoughtfully, her expression disappointed but not surprised. After a few moments she sighed and leaned back into the couch. At that moment IF noticed that Vert also looked very tired, and not just physically, but mentally as well. She carefully scooted closer the the CPU, but said nothing. She knew Vert would tell what was wrong when she was ready.

After a few minutes of silence Vert finally sat up and sighed again. "I suppose it can't be helped. It's been hundreds of years since the Console Wars after all." She surmised, her voice and eyes distant. She felt something touching her hand, and looked down to see IF's fingers intertwined with her own.

"Are you alright?" IF asked again, her eyes filled with worry.

"Just remembering some things I'd rather forget." Vert replied. There was another pregnant silence before Vert spoke again.

"Do you know what it's like to fight a war that lasts thousands of years?"

IF didn't know how to respond, and she knew that she didn't have to. Vert needed to talk, to voice the memories that were haunting her. IF would happily listen.

"It starts out as you expect." Vert began, her voice and expression once again growing distant. "You go in full of pride and confidence, convinced that things will be simple. You're a CPU after all, you have nothing to fear from the upstart children facing you. But then you find out that those children are actually competent, and things quickly grind to a stalemate." Vert paused for a moment, closing her eyes and inhaling, preparing herself for what was next.

"You try and try to break the deadlock, but each time you achieve nothing beyond wasting lives. Soon the war that you thought would last mere weeks has dragged on for years, and the cost is far higher than you could have imagined. You find yourself struggling to justify the slaughter, so you start convincing yourself that the enemy—" Vert was cut off when IF suddenly wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her into an embrace, which was not easy considering the size difference between the two. Vert was surprised by the hug and took a few seconds to react, but once she recovered she hugged IF's waist to pull her closer.

"It's okay Vert. This isn't the Console War." IF whispered comfortingly.

"I'm aware of that, it's just..." Vert paused, searching for the right words. "I'm just worried that the people, in both Leanbox and the rest of Gamindustri, have forgotten that there is a difference between an enemy and an evil person." IF gently pulled back, keeping her hands on Vert's shoulders. The two locked eyes, Vert's soft blue meeting IF's bright green, and Vert felt her fears slowly fading away.

"Then you'll just have to remind them." IF said, as though it were the simplest thing in the world, and yet Vert couldn't help but smile. In addition to being adorable IF always seemed to know what to say to cheer her up.

"Thank you Iffy." Vert smiled, leaning forward and kissing the girl on the forehead. The action elicited a surprised yelp from the brunette. IF may have gotten used to being casual with Vert, but the CPU still knew how to make her heart melt. Not that it was difficult; pretty much any show of affection could turn her into a blushing, stuttering mess if done right.

"S-Sure, I'm a-always happy to s-spend time with you Lady Vert…" IF sputtered, her composure destroyed by Vert's kiss. Vert chuckled, causing IF to blush. On one hand it was a nice bit of normalcy after the last two weeks, but on the other hand it was embarrassing how Vert could still ruin her with the smallest touch! The Wind Walker of Gamindustri reduced to the equivalent of a blushing schoolgirl!

Just thinking about it made Iffy's face burn brighter, which in turn caused Vert to giggle again. "You can consider your mission to cheer me up a success." Vert said with a small smile. IF began to reply, but before she could start stuttering out a reply she felt Vert pulling her closer again. At first she thought the blonde Goddess was going to kiss her again, which briefly sent her mind into panic mode, but calmed down when she realized Verts true intentions.

"It really is a shame that we don't get to spend more time together." Vert said cheerfully. IF gave a soft moan of agreement. It was the only response she could give with her head wedged between Vert's breasts. Not that she minded, despite the rather brazen nature of the act it actually caused IF the least amount of distress. In fact, this was actually the most relaxed she'd been since the Incident; it felt like her head was stuck between two pillows.

Two big.

Warm…

Soft…

And she was out.

Chika found the two cuddled together on the couch a half hour later. IF's head was resting on Vert's chest with that stupid grin she always had when she was near the CPU, and Vert's head was resting on top of IF's, looking more relaxed than Chika had seen her in weeks.

The Oracle's first instinct was was to grab IF by the collar of her ridiculous, oversized coat and throw her out the nearest window. But she suppressed that urge and instead took a blanket from one of Verts drawers and threw it over the sleeping couple.

Vert, for reasons Chika would never understand, loved IF. So for Verts sake Chika did everything in her power to tolerate the girl.

* * *

And in Lowee…

Blanc's attention was drawn from her book by the sound of knuckles rapping against her bedroom door. "Come in." The CPU called from where she was sitting on her bed. The door swung open to reveal Rom and Ram, both looking a little nervous.

"What do you two want?" Blanc asked as she stood up and walked over to her sisters.

"Uh...So... Me and Rom have been talking..." Ram started.

"Y-Yeah... talking..." Rom added timidly. Blanc raised a curious eyebrow. She was willing to hear the twins out, but there was a part of her that was preparing to bring the metaphoric, or possibly literal, hammer down. It was too late for their antics.

"And we decided that you are really, really, really overworked. So we're gonna spend the night with you!"

"We're gonna help you relax tonight!" The twins finished with cheerful smiles. Blanc was caught off guard by this sudden declaration and it took her a moment to reply, though it was a pleasant surprise.

"Well, isn't that sweet of you." Blanc smiled as she gave her sisters an affectionate pat on the head, much to Ram's chagrin. "How about you two go get changed for bed and I'll do the same, alright?" Blanc proposed. The twins nodded in agreement and happily ran back to their room to get their pajamas. Blanc watched them go for a moment before pulling the door shut.

And then the mask fell away.

Due to Blanc's stoic demeanor, there was a common misconception that she didn't have any strong emotions, besides anger of course. This was obviously false; she just had a great degree of emotional control that allowed her to keep her feelings under wraps. And right now she was using every ounce of that control to keep herself from exploding.

Blanc was well beyond her usual level of anger: her face was overshadowed, her eye was glowing red, her veins were bulging, her fists were clenched so tight she could feel her nails digging into her palms, her whole body was literally vibrating with rage, her teeth were grinding against each other, and she was growling like a rabid dog. Hell, she was pretty sure was emanating a litartal aura of rage! Their world was basically an anime so why not!?

Don't lose control

Damn that Gate! Why did that stupid pile of rocks have to open up and let all those murdering bastards into their world!? Why couldn't they go five minutes without some kind of crisis?! Hadn't they earned some peace after their mistakes in the Console War!? Wasn't getting her ass kicked by CFW Magic and being strung up in the Graveyard enough?!

Don't lose control

And now her younger sisters were taking care of her!? As if they didn't have their own problems; she knew they were having nightmares, she knew they needed her, but she couldn't do anything because she never knew how to interact with them! Why the hell was she the only CPU who didn't naturally know how to care for her siblings?!

Don't lose control!

Blanc exhaled and collapsed onto her hands and knees. She remained on the ground for a few moments, her breath coming out in ragged gasps as she tried to regain her composure. After what felt like half an hour she was able to shakily rise to her feet, still breathing raggedly. The anger wasn't gone, she could still feel it clawing at the inside of her chest. She'd just shoved it down deep enough that she could keep it under control.

She'd have to find some monsters to use for stress relief. That should be enough to hold her over until they crossed the Gate and she could properly vent her frustration. They would be going through the Gate, that much was a forgone conclusion, and when they did…

There would be blood.

* * *

It has now been one month since the Battle of Planeptune. The other CPU's had all been invited to Planeptune for an official meeting where they would discuss what the Guild had uncovered in their investigations into the Gate and the invaders who came through it. Unfortunately the meeting had gotten off to a rough start, or, more appropriately, it hadn't started because their hosts had yet to arrive.

An awkward silence hung over the meeting room as the three CPU's sat around the table. None of them had done much talking save for a few awkward comments. It felt strange for all of them to be meeting without Neptune, especially since it was her Basilicom. Eventually Blanc decided to speak up.

"Have you heard anything?" The Lowee CPU asked, directing her question at Noire.

"No, but Uni was talking to Nepgear earlier, and I think I heard her say that Neptune was doing better." Noire replied. Blanc and Vert glanced at each other. They were glad to hear that Neptune was recovering, of course. But Noire's response had been very quick, and it sounded rather… rehearsed. Vert hummed thoughtfully.

"Why were you the first person that Nepgear contacted?" Vert thought aloud. Noire's face paled slightly. "If we were trying to help Neptune with her emotional distress than wouldn't it have been better for all us to talk with her?" Vert proposed.

"It would have been like an intervention." Blanc concurred, nodding in agreement. They both turned to Noire again, who was looking a little nervous and had a soft but noticeable blush.

"Look, Nepgear just called and said something was wrong with Neptune. It's not like I wanted to help Neptune all on my own." Noire shot back, though her typical tsundere denial and her reddening face left the other two CPU's skeptical.

But luckily for Noire a certain Protagonist chose that moment to make her appearance, as the door to the meeting room opened to reveal Neptune, flanked by Histoire and holding a cup of pudding in her hand. She looked… completely normal! There wasn't a single trace of weight loss or sleep deprivation, and she had her usual doofy smile on her face with a spoon sticking out her mouth.

"Schorry fwor the waif!" Neptune chirped as she walked across the room with Histoire floating along behind her.

"Hello Neptune. You're looking well." Blanc greeted politely as Neptune took her seat.

"Indeed. From what I heard you've been in rather poor health lately." Vert added with a note of concern in her voice. Noire didn't say anything, but she was clearly relieved that Neptune was looking better. Although she was curious as to how that had happened.

"Yeah, but it was nothing that couldn't be cured by some couple doses of puddingy goodness." Neptune explained, scooping a spoonful of pudding into her mouth, as if to emphasize her point. The other Goddesses obviously didn't believe that answer and turned to Histoire.

"I created a detailed diet and exercise plan tailored specifically to help Neptune recover quickly." Histoire explained. "Unfortunately, she ignored my advice and has instead spent all of her time eating pudding and playing games. The only reason for her recovery is Planeptune's incredibly high Shares."

"Yeah, usually when a new game starts all our Shares get taken by whatever bad guy we gotta take down. So this is really convenient." Neptune said happily as she used her spoon to scrape out the last few molecules of pudding from her cup. Noire sighed. Vert chuckled and covered her mouth with her hand. Blanc remained silent.

Neptune was back… with all the headaches that entailed.

Histoire cleared her throat to get the CPU's attention. "I believe we should begin without further delay." She proposed. The CPU's each gave their own signs of approval, varying from a polite nod to a bored sigh (Neptune), and Histoire activated a holographic display built into the table. After taking a few seconds to power up a purple tinted model of the Gate appeared in the air.

"I'll start from the beginning, just to make sure we're on the same page." Histoire then began retelling the events of the Battle of Planeptune: from the appearance of the Gate, to the CPU's arrival, and all the way up the post battle clean-up operations.

As she talked several smaller holographic screens appeared around the image of the Gate, each one playing recordings of different events in the battle. The CPU's each showed a level of disdain or discomfort as they watched: Blanc glared at the screen and began murmuring curses, while Vert watched silently with a look of utter contempt, Noire tried and failed to remain emotionless as anger repeatedly flashed across her face, and Neptune was looking very uncomfortable and a little nauseous.

"-the Guild's final report found that two-thousand of Planeptune's civilians were killed or injured, while our military forces suffered only a few minor injuries. In contrast, the invaders, who we now know are called the Saderan Empire, suffered thirty-thousand casualties. We have captured six-thousand prisoners." Histoire finished.

"Alright, first things first: Histy, how do we blow that thing up?" Neptune asked, turning in her chair and pointing at the tome in an overly dramatic fashion. Histoire's response was a tired sigh.

"Neptune, the Guild has already made numerous attempts to destroy the Gate, but they've been unable to even damage it. You would know this if you had read the report that is right in front of you." Histoire replied. Neptune looked down and saw that there was indeed a holographic screen on the table in front of her with the words 'PLANEPTUNE GUILD REPORT' helpfully written at the top in all caps.

"Hehe, whoops. Didn't see that there." Neptune giggled awkwardly, scratching the back of her head.

"Are you sure there's no way to close it?" Noire asked, already looking through the notes in front of her.

"None that I am aware of. This Gate is different from the portal leading to the Ultra Dimension, and the only person who would know anything about it, MAGES., has been comatosed since the incident." Histoire explained.

"So when are we going through?"

All eyes turned to Blanc, who looked as calm and stoic as ever. "We all know it's going to happen; whether it's from common sense or meta awareness, we know that we're going to have to go through and give these Saderan guys a kick in the ass. Let's stop beating around the bush and get on with it." She urged. Needless to say she was met with immediate protests.

"No way! I didn't like it when they came through and started wrecking my home! I'm not gonna go through and return the favor!" Neptune yelled back, looking uncharacteristically, though understandably, angry.

"So what's your plan then? Just wait for them to send another wave through to get slaughtered?" Blanc countered. Neptune opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by another protest.

"You have no right to tell Neptune what to do!" Noire interjected, jumping up from her seat and slamming her hand down on the table. "This is a Planeptune issue, so the CPU should be the one to decide how to deal with it!" The ravenette argued.

"If you think that, then why are you getting involved?" Blanc countered again, rising from her seat as well, though her shorter height lessened the effect.

"Because I believe you're starting an argument about something you have no right to comment on." Noire replied, her brow knitted in frustration.

"Hey, you girls can't fight in here! This is the War Room!" Both of the arguing CPU's heads snapped over to Neptune, who was giving them her familiar serious-yet-laidback smile. "Look, you both agree that I get final say on what happens right? Well I'm saying that I'm not setting one foot through that Gate." The purple CPU said, and while she still had a lighthearted smile on her face it was clear that she wasn't going to budge.

"It could work."

The heads of the three CPU's all turned to Vert. She'd been silent throughout the previous argument, choosing instead to scroll through the Guild report in front of her. With their target locked Neptune and Noire prepared prepared to open fire on the blonde goddess the same way they had Blanc, but Vert raised her hand for silence.

"Give me a moment to explain." Vert requested. Neptune and Noire shared a look, then nodded at Vert to continue. It was only fair that Vert got a chance to speak as well, and surely she wouldn't be agreeing with Blanc without good reason.

"Thank you. Now Neptune, I understand why you don't want to go through the Gate, I find the idea very distasteful myself. But you can't just act like it doesn't exist. Taking control of the other side will stop these Saderan's from attempting to invade Planeptune again. It would also allow us to learn more about… What's the new world called" Vert asked as she realized that she didn't know what the world beyond the Gate was called. She turned Histoire for an explanation.

"We have not been able to learn the name of the new world—"

"But we're callin it the Special Region!" Neptune butted in. The other CPU's did not look amused. "Y' know, because it's like a bonus area that you unlock for doin' a bunch of special stuff in a game. Except I never wanted this thing to open." Neptune explained, her voice becoming sadder as she neared the end. Vert chose not to press the issue and continued her explanation.

"—We could explore the 'Special Region' and learn more about its inhabitants. Perhaps we could even find a diplomatic solution to this conflict." Vert concluded. The other CPU's looked conflicted about her proposal, though for different reasons.

Noire agreed with everything that Vert had said, in fact that sounded like something she would do! The logical, professional part of her mind was screaming at her that this was the right thing to do. But seeing Neptune upset like this… why did emotions have to be so complicated!

Blanc was torn; on one hand she did want to go through, but what Vert was suggesting was far too timid for her liking. She wanted to make the Saderans rue the day that damned Gate and they'd dared to bring war to Gamindustri! She couldn't do that if they spent all their time sitting around the stupid Gate!

And Neptune…

"Alright, you've convinced me." Neptune said with great reluctance. "We'll go through the Gate, but remember that we're not trying to cause trouble. We have to leave a good impression on the new neighbors after all." The other CPU's all returned to their seats.

"Our first order of business should be to find a justification to involve our own force." Vert proposed.

"She's right. Our nation's don't have a formalized military alliance." Blanc agreed.

"I think I may have a solution." Noire replied as she enlarged one of the video screens. Specifically the recording of the enemy commander reading a large scroll. Noire clicked the screen a few more times and applied a crude translation package. Their knowledge of Saderan was still limited.

"We, the Saderan Empire, in the name of his Imperial Majesty Molt Sol Augustus, declare conquest and dominion of this world!"

Noire paused the video. "That's not just a declaration of war on Planeptune, it's a declaration on all of Gamindustri.

* * *

It has now been three months since the Battle of Planeptune, and a lot has changed in that time. The Gate had been quiet since the invasion, but a large dome had been constructed around the structure, just in case someone tried to sneak through. The buildings around the Gate had also been emptied of their occupants, and were now being used to house the thousands of soldiers that were stationed around the mysterious portal. Each CPU had organized a regiment of two-thousand of their finest troops to partake in the mission to the Special Region.

Those soldiers were now standing in four columns in front of the Gate, all of them standing at attention as they waited for the event to proceed. Standing before them were the four CPU's, each in their HDD forms, and a podium. Today was the day. The day they would finally go through the Gate. The day they would invade the Empire.

CPU Green Heart stepped forward, her regal face marred by sadness, and began to speak.

"Long ago, our world was embroiled in a terrible conflict. We CPU's, blinded by our youth and arrogance, plunged our nations into a war for control of Gamindustri. The struggle lasted for thousands of years, caused immeasurable suffering, and gained us nothing. When we realized the senselessness of our actions we began to talk, and eventually brought the conflict to an end. This was the Console War, and when it ended we swore that such a tragedy would never befall our world again."

Green Heart stepped back from the podium, allowing CPU White Heart to take her place. The Goddess of Lowee looked the most normal of her companions, ie. perpetually pissed off.

"Unfortunately the choice has been taken out of our hands. Three months ago the Gate behind us appeared in Planeptune City, and an unknown invader, now known as the Saderan Empire, came through. Rather than try and communicate like normal people the assholes instead chose to attack the city, violently murdering anyone they could get their hands on! We CPU's were able to drive them off, with assistance from Planeptune's army, but this attack cannot go unanswered!"

Now it was CPU Black Heart's turn to speak. She was doing her best to maintain the her usual haughty facade, but it was clear she was faking.

"Some of you may be wondering why we are aiding Planeptune in this mission. They were the ones who were attacked, so surely they should handle this issue themselves? Those who think that should know this; both we CPU's and Guild agents from all four nations have reviewed footage from the initial invasion, and before their commander gave the order to attack he delivered a declaration of war against all of Gamindustri. So we, the people of Gamindustri, must stand united against them!"

Finally, CPU Purple Heart took her place behind the podium. She had the look of a woman who was about to do something she did not want to do, but knew she had no choice but to do it.

"The primary objective of this operation is to bring an end to the our conflict with the Saderan Empire. We will seize control of the other side the Gate, then we will send out Guild agents to learn more about the surrounding area, and this new world we have dubbed the Special Region. Finally, we will seek to open negotiations with the Saderan Empire, by force if necessary. This, brave soldiers of Gamindustri, is your mission!"

_"That was the scene hours ago as the newly formed Gamindustri Coalition Force was deployed through the Gate. There have been reports of heavy fighting on the other side, but we have yet to receive any official information."_

No one was really sure if leaving a TV on in a coma patient's room had any real effect. There was a general assumption that they could still hear, and thus would enjoy the entertainment, but it was a hard theory to prove. And that was without considering the fact that Two Nep Hospital had a reputation for eccentricity: medical devices that looked they were from a mad science movie, rumors of hauntings by the spirits of deceased patients, and the fact that Compa was still employed despite dozens of lawsuits. Compared to all that leaving the TV on for a coma patient wasn't really strange.

And it's not like MAGES. was complaining.

The Mad Magician was an oddly tranquil sight; wearing a hospital gown instead of her usual wild outfit and lying unconscious in bed, she would have looked rather peaceful if it weren't for the various wires and tubes connected to her body at various places. The room was quiet besides the low droning of the news on the TV and the occasional monitor beeping.

But since that's a rather boring scene the door slid open and a hooded figure stepped in. He (or she... most likely she) was wearing a grey sweat jacket with matching pants and black boots, with jackets hood obscuring her face. The figure looked out into the hallway before slowly pushing the door shut and closed the blinds. She slowly walked over to the bed, her hand outstretched towards the sleeping MAGES.

"Excuse me." The grey-clad figure spun around to see a nurse standing in the doorway. "This room is off limits to everyone except for staff and fam…" The nurse's voice faded as she saw the face of the mysterious visitor: 5pb. Gamindustri's top Idol.

"Uh… hi." The bluenette squeaked and waved nervously at the nurse. Her nervous face was a far cry from the usually peppiness she usually had when appearing on stage. The nurse awkwardly waved back.

"Nurse, why are you standing in—" Another figure appeared in the doorway behind the nurse. A short, balding man wearing a lab coat with a green shirt underneath, along with blue pants and brown slippers. "Ah, I see Miss 5pb. you've come to visit again." He stated as he noticed the Idol.

"Dr. Bullfrog, you knew she was—"

"My patient is her cousin." The appropriately named doctor explained. Ever since 5pb. met him she could never stop thinking about how much he looked like a frog.

"I don't want MAGES. getting swarmed just because she's my cousin." 5pb. explained to the nurse. She had become familiar with Dr. Bullfrog over the past few months, so she with him around she could talk without becoming a nervous wreck. "I should probably pick a different disguise though, if Compa saw me dressed like this she probably would have attacked me." She hadn't realized how much her disguise resembled Underling's apparel until she had tried it on. That had been an unwelcome jumpscare.

"Wait, you know Compa?" The unnamed nurse asked.

"Is she a friend of yours?" 5pb. Asked, hoping to find some common ground with the nurse.

_Code Red: Fire Suppression Teams please report to the Aquatic Therapy Department. Nurse Compa, please report to the Legal Department._

"She's kinda famous around here." The nurse replied flatly. 5pb. wasn't sure what she should be more worried about: the hospital having their own Firefighters or the fact that Compa had set fire to a swimming pool!

"Ugh…"

The room fell silent as the small groan travelled through the air. The doctor, idol, and nurse all stared at each other in surprise before slowly turning their collective gaze to the unconscious MAGES. The Mad Magician's eyes had begun twitching, and the monitors surrounding her were showing… something. 5pb. didn't know what, but Dr. Bullfrog certainly seemed surprised as he ordered the nurse to go get help.

"What's going on?" 5pb. asked nervously, looking between the doctor and her cousin.

"Increased brain activity. She might be waking up."

MAGES. eyes fluttered open.

"MAGES.!" A storm of emotions blew across the idol's face as she looked into her cousins confused eyes. Happiness and relief welled up within her as tears of joy began running down her face. "I'm so glad you're okay! Listen, you're in a hospital. A building collapsed and— ah!" The tearful reunion was interrupted when MAGES. suddenly grabbed her cousin by the collar and pulled her down. Or at least she tried to pull her down, but it was enough to get 5pb. to look her in the eye.

Her scared, desperate eyes.

"W-What's wrong?" 5pb. asked nervously. MAGES. opened her mouth and tried to reply, but all that came out was a strained gasping noise. 5pb. suddenly realized why her cousin was tugging on her collar and leaned in closer.

"Sa-bo-tage…"

* * *

**A.N. And thus this chapter, and the prologue, comes to an end.**

**I apologize for taking so long to post this but real life reared its ugly head. And this chapter is the most important thus far, as it conveys the general mood of the CPU's towards the war. In short: Neptune doesn't want to do it but knows she has to, Noire is trying to stay professional but her emotions are a little out of whack, Vert's worried about people forgetting that their enemies are not evil by default, and Blanc has achieved a new level of pissed off.**

**You may also have noticed that there are now a total of three ships sailing in this story. I'm going to say right now that this is not a romance story, so those will not be a major part of the plot. You will still get plenty of fluffy romance scenes, just don't expect them too often. Also, no lemons.**

**I will also say that this is going to be one of those stories that follows canon very closely. The reason for this is ****because, in my opinion, GATE canon is the best possible outcome, and while that may not be what many of us wanted it fits perfectly with the lighthearted nature of Neptunia. I will be adding subplots to add some variety.**

**Finally, I've been thinking about adding music suggestions to the story. Nothing serious, just a little note that says "play this song if you want." I'll put up a poll on my page where you can vote.**

**Random Military Facts:**

**"Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics."**

**-General Robert H. Barrow, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps**

**This is something that people always seem to ignore in GATE stories: the Gate is only sixteen yards/meters across. That makes it a major logistical bottleneck and severely limits the amount of supplies you can send through, which in turn limits your operational capabilities. This means that the further you get from the Gate, the harder it is to supply your soldiers. I suggest researching the North Africa Campaign from WWII or Napoleon's invasion of Russia to see what happens when you have poor logistics.**

**Responding to Reviews:**

**General: There's actually not too much to say here since a lot of the reviews are people agreeing with me that the Empire is not pure evil. Considering how I was expecting the complete opposite response I'm gonna call that a win.**

**xyzdreadnought: Your Bae is okay, Rei got away... *runs away from angry mob***

**doom2099: You were partially correct; someone in Gamindustri opened the Gate on purpose, MAGES. was just collateral damage.**

**EfylNep: When I said GATE and Neptunia were niche fanbases i meant on this site.**

**BrokenLifeCycle: We talked about this in PM's but I just want to answer here as well, and the answer is that I honestly don't know if Gehaburn could kill a Special Region god because there are too many variables to consider. And I'm not killing any Special Region Gods, I played God of War.**

**Belphegor Asemeroth Ezekiel: You actually think the Romans and the Mongols were more honorable than the Saderans? Seriously? Dude, the Romans would use every underhanded trick in the book to justify conquering somebody, and the Mongols didn't even need a reason to conquer you. The Saderans also didn't betray the Warrior Bunnies by attacking them, they just hadn't attacked them yet because they were insignificant. **

**You're complaining about the Imperials raping people but you put the Mongols on a pedestal as more moral than the Empire? Genghis Khan raped so many people that one in two-hundred people today are his descendants. One in two-hundred, out of the seven point fifty-three billion currently alive today. Think about that.**


	4. Scars

GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!

Chapter 1: Scars

**(A.N. So before we start I have an announcement to make: this is the last chapter that will be Beta read by Porpol. His discomfort with the large battle scenes and unfamiliarity with the GATE setting have caused him to withdrawal from the story. I'll miss him, but thankfully I've already found a new Beta. The next chapter, and hopefully many more, will be reviewed by someone you may recognize from the review section: Shadicgon!)**

Sadera. The capital city of the most powerful nation on Falmart. For over six-hundred years the city had been made rich by the spoils of conquest and the resources that came after. It's wealth was clear to anyone that laid eyes upon it; great works of architecture dotted the city, massive aqueducts carried water from hundreds of miles away, and an entire hill had been flattened to hold many of the Empires most impressive palaces.

There was also a large impoverished slum, but it's not within the city's walls so it doesn't count.

Compared to this, the Imperial Senate building was rather underwhelming; it was small, circular marble building with a domed roof. The interior of the building was far grander than it's simple appearance. The Senate chambers were decorated with the trophies of past conquests. Rows of cushioned seats stood in a circle around a marble floor where speakers would address the Senate. Finally, positioned at the back of the room beneath a large Imperial banner, was a throne.

And seated in that throne was Emperor Molt Sol Augustus.

"I hope you will forgive my rudeness, but given the urgent matter at hand, I feel it best to skip usual pleasantries." Marquis Casel El Tiberius' words sent a wave of murmurs through the senate. Casel had a reputation as a bold speaker, and Molt somewhat respected him for that. Unfortunately he also had a soft heart, a poor quality for a politician, especially during wartime.

"The Gate situation is an utter catastrophe! Not only was our expeditionary force utterly destroyed six-months ago, but the Otherworlders have now seized control of both the Gate and the sacred Alnus Hill." More murmurs spread through the senators as they heard the news. Molt resisted the urge to huff in annoyance at their reaction. They already knew that Alnus Hill had been lost. That was why the senate had assembled.

"We have lost more than half of our army and our enemy has gained a foothold in our territory. I believe I speak for all present when I ask how your Majesty intends to solve this crisis?" Many Senators raised their voices in agreement, but Molt could see they were divided. Most were hoping to hear the Emperor's plan for a glorious counter-attack to wipe the enemy from Saderan lands, but a small number were hoping he would propose an alternative.

"I understand your concern Marquis Casel," Molt began. "It is true that much of our military power has been destroyed. But I urge you not to lose heart." Casel failed to hide his surprise. Clearly he hadn't expected the normally cold Emperor's reaction. That was good.

"We must remember that we are not invincible. We have suffered defeats before, such as in the Arctic War. But every time we have been in danger the people of Sadera have rallied together: the peasantry, the military, the senate, and the Emperor all stood side-by-side to defeat the foe before them. Our unity is our greatest strength. We must not waver in the face of this new foe."

The speech had hardly been bellicose or fiery. In fact he'd barely raised his voice. But it was met with a round of cheers worthy of a great orator. Nothing like a bit patriotic fervor to help distract the senate from their fears. Molt smirked in self satisfaction as he noticed that some of the moderate senators were cheering along with the hawks.

The cheers died down as an aged senator with a cane limped onto the floor. Molt's face twitched in irritation as he recognized the man: Godasen, the commander of the army that would have reinforced Titus and had been guarding Alnus Hill after the expeditionary force was defeated.

Godasen was an accomplished general with many victories to his name, but he and Titus could not have been more different. Titus was a tactical genius, albeit a bloodthirsty one. But Godasen was the embodiment of the stagnation that had plagued the army in recent decades. His defeat at Alnus was proof enough, when he sent heavy cavalry charging up a hill. The battle was already being called Godasen's Folly.

"What is your plan to repel the invaders, your Majesty?" The aged general asked. "My army was destroyed in a mere two days. I tried to retake the Gate, but my soldiers couldn't even get close to them. I'm certain you are aware that I studied in Rondel for a time," Every senator present groaned. It was well known that Godasen was a mage, but it was also well known that his magic was as feeble as his mind. "And in all my years I have never seen such sorcery-"

"We must strike back!" Another senator, a bald man wearing armor interrupted. "I say we take the soldiers of our vassal nations and use them to repel the invaders!" Several pro-war senators raised their voices in agreement with the mans proposition. Godasen was not one of them.

"Using our vassals soldiers would only make things worse." Another senator, a moderate from the look of him, spoke up. "We've already seen that we cannot defeat them on Alnus Hill. We should wait for them to move to a less advantageous position—"

"Did you not hear me?! These people have magic unlike any seen before! The survivors from Titus' army had were all mad, rambling about a land of metal towers and foreign Apostles-"

"They're not the only ones who're mad!" Godasen gawked in surprise at the insult, causing a few senators to burst into laughter, while the others kept arguing.

"And let the enemy capture more of our land? Have you no pride?!" The first senator shouted back. By now things were getting heated, and groups were beginning to form amongst the squabbling senators. Molt decided it would be a good idea to reveal his plan before a fight broke out. The Emperor raised is hand for silence, and within seconds order was restored.

"While we stand here bickering our enemy grows stronger." Molt stated, rising from his throne. "Send messengers to our vassal kingdoms: Elbe, Godu, Gwaban, Alguna, and all others. We will muster our strength and take back Alnus Hill!" He declared, raising his hand in the air dramatically. The senate once again broke out into cheers and applause as the Emperor returned to his throne.

Marquis Casel looked back at his cheering compatriots, then fixed the Emperor with disgusted stare.

"Your Majesty, all this will achieve is another massacre."

Molt responded with a devious smirk.

Everything was going as planned.

* * *

Orators were dispatched immediately to the Saderan Empires many vassal states, carrying the Emperor's word far and wide. Within a matter of weeks all the subservient nations of the Empire had heard the news: a mysterious force had crossed through the Gate and had engaged the Imperial Army at Alnus Hill. They mustered their armies and marched to Alnus.

Now the newly formed Army of Unified Kingdoms, Allied Army for short, had gathered atop a hill not far from Alnus. The militaries of twenty-one nations united to form a force that could rival even the Imperial Army. With the armies gathered a meeting was to be held for the leaders of the various nations to discuss the current situation. Unfortunately the Imperial commander was still absent, sending a messenger in his stead.

"Our commander is currently leading an attack on Alnus Hill, and is unable to meet you." The young man explained to the nobles gathered around the meeting table.

"That doesn't sound right." A deep voice grumbled back. It belonged to King Duran. A giant of a man with long brown hair and a metal eyepatch over his left eye. "I went to observe the enemy position on my way here, and I only saw a small number of enemy troops. There couldn't have been more than eight-thousand." Duran reported, fixing the messenger with a glare. He may have been a vassal of the Empire, but he was still a King.

"We have drawn the enemy to the other side of the hill, my Lord. The plan is for you to attack the enemy tomorrow, striking their rear and capturing their camp in a pincer movement." The messenger explained.

"And who precisely came up with this plan?" King Tacitus of Alguna asked skeptically as he twirled his mustache.

"Titus Em Varro."

The temperature in the tent dropped several degrees, even Duran felt a chill running up his spine. Such was the reputation of Sadera's greatest general.

"Well t-then, I see nothing wrong with a plan c-created by such a renowned t-tactician." The Tacitus stammered. "In fact, I would like to enlist my forces to lead the attack."

"I've seen more battles than you have years boy! My men will lead the way!" The King of Mudwan interjected. A small, good natured squabble broke out between the gathered nobles as they debated who would get the glory of being first into battle. The Imperial messenger withdrew from the tent, giving a simple reminder to attack Alnus the following day as he left.

Duran chose not to join in the contest to be the first into battle. Instead, he rose from his seat and walked to the entrance of the tent. He felt like there was a raging storm in his stomach. His years of experience and gut instincts that something was wrong.

The sound of boots against dirt alerted him that someone was approaching from behind. He turned to see his old friend, the Duke Ligu of the League Principality, approaching him with a smile and a hand raised in greeting.

"I'm surprised you're out here. If there's anyone who deserves to lead us into battle it would be the Lion of Elbe." Ligu commented.

"We outnumber the enemy more than ten-to-one." Duran replied dismissively. "There won't be a battle, just a slaughter. Though I suppose that is what Titus wants." The King scowled.

"What do you mean?" The Duke asked.

"I have met General Titus, and while he is a great tactician, he is also a devout worshipper of Emroy. His goal in every battle is create a the biggest bloodbath he can, and then seek victory. Mark my words: tomorrow we will be waste deep in blood." Duran told the younger man as he looked to the sky, where the vultures were already beginning to circle.

* * *

Unknown to Duran, those were not vultures. They were high-altitude reconnaissance drones, and back at the CPU's command center they were watching live footage of their enemy gathering. The command center was a rather spartan place; a prefabricated building that had been constructed shortly after the Gate was taken. This meeting room consisted of a simple table with a built-in hologram projector and several chairs.

"They're certainly persistent." Blanc commented as the CPU's observed the holographic map in front of them.

"We destroy two armies and they just send a bigger one." Vert sighed in disappointment. "Isn't there an old saying about how doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity?" She asked, directing the question at Blanc.

"There is, though it's a bit more circumstantial." Blanc answered after a moment's thought.

"Well they did send an army through a mysterious portal to another world without checking what was on the other side. Not exactly winning any common sense awards." Neptune piped up.

Noire had remained silent, her eyes slowly examining every detail of the hologram. Finally she spoke up.

"I don't think they're Saderan." As the others turned to her she began enhancing the image, specifically focusing on the assembling armies flags and heraldry. "None of the symbols on their flags match any of the ones that we saw in Planeptune." Noire clarified.

"That's our Noire, she never misses anything! I bet she has a lot of experience from closing loopholes used by all the richy rich people in Lastation." Neptune pondered cheerfully.

"Don't make it sound like my nation is full of evil businessmen!" Noire snapped back.

"Getting back on topic." Vert interrupted, returning to the issue at hand. "How do you wish to handle this, Neptune?" She asked. Since Planeptune was the only nation that had been attacked, it was decided that Neptune would be in charge of the campaign. Even though they knew she would never let them hear the end of it.

"I'm glad you asked. I Neptune: your glorious and awesome leader, have decided that we're not gonna fight these guys. I've got no pork with them so there's no reason to start anything." Neptune explained, making various grandiose gestures as she spoke.

"It's 'no beef' Neptune, not pork." Noire corrected with a sigh.

"Eh, meat is meat. Potato tomato." Neptune returned, shrugging. "Just like how any curry is like any other if prepared the same… Or maybe… Some omurice… Mmm, I could really go for an omelette right about now!" Noire decided not to comment on Neptune's appetite, instead focusing on business.

"So how do you plan to convince them not to fight us? It's not like we can fly over there and talk to them."

Silence hung over the room.

Noire had unintentionally reminded them of a rather chilling discovery they'd made after passing through the Gate: there was no Share energy in this world. They weren't at risk of dying, but the only reason they had any power was because Share energy from their world had been leaking through the Gate. Their HDD forms were limited to the hill with the Gate and a small area of only a few dozen miles around it.

"Yeah, the range limiter is pretty annoying." Neptune agreed. "But if the author didn't give us some kind of handicap this story would be over really quick. Which means I get more screen time." Neptune assured them.

"Any-who, all we gotta do is wait until they get close enough and then we just fly down and talk to them. We know these guys have never seen a CPU before so we might be able to spook em into talking." Neptune proposed.

"We should still keep our soldiers ready, just in case." Blanc pointed out. The other CPU's gave her suspicious looks. "It's just in case. Like Neptune said: these people aren't the Saderans, so we have no need to fight them." She explained calmly.

"It does make sense." Vert agreed, albeit warily.

"Hm, alright. We'll keep everyone on alert." Neptune sighed.

With their course of action agreed upon the CPU's concluded their meeting. After that it was a simple matter of issuing orders to their sub-commanders and letting the orders move down the chain of command. And with their orders given the only thing left to do was wait for the attack to come, which was something they could sleep on.

* * *

Don't lose control

Don't lose control.

Don't lose control!

Don't Lose Control!

DON'T LOSE CONTROL!

**DON'T LOSE CONTROL!**

_DON'T LOSE CONTROL!_

**_DON'T LOSE_****_ CONTROL!_**

DontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrolDontlosecontrol!

* * *

"Tomorrow we will be waist deep in blood."

Ligu shook his head in an attempt to dislodge the troubling voice. Duran's words had echoed in his mind since the previous night. A part of him wanted simply to forget about it, to write it off as nothing more than Duran's age making him bitter. But he knew that would be wrong. Duran may have been old, but wisdom came with age, and Duran was a very wise man.

The realization that Duran was right, that something was very wrong, had eaten away at him throughout the night. Even as Ligu rode at the head of his army, a position that should have filled him with boundless confidence, his stomach was turning over. His eye continuously scanned the land in front of him: searching for scouts, outriders, or any other signs that the Empire was watching.

"Why don't I see the Imperial Army?" Ligu wondered aloud, his frustration clear.

"I thought they were on the other side of the hill sir?" One of his bodyguards replied, visibly confused by the Duke's question. Ligu was about to reply when something drew his eyes skyward. After a few moments of staring he found what had caught his attention: a small, white... bird? He'd never seen a bird flying like that before. And circling the bird were several orbs of blue light.

Then the orbs began rocketing towards the ground, and Ligu realized something was very wrong.

* * *

Tacitus was nearly thrown from his horse as a blast of wind tore through the air and the ground began to shake beneath him. His horse bucked and panicked beneath him, and only his years of kept him from being thrown off. When he finally managed to get the beast under control he turned back to see what had happened.

The air was filled with fire and smoke. It was as though the very earth was erupting beneath their feet. Men ran, screaming in panic as balls of fire bloomed from the ground and tore them apart. The scent of burning flesh wafted into his nose, accompanied by a pungent aroma he couldn't identify, and threatened to send his breakfast spilling out upon the ground.

"...-ord. My Lord can you hear me?!" The sound of one of his bodyguards brought Tacitus back to his senses. He inhaled, only now remembering to breathe, and turned back to his own men. By some miracle whatever apocalypse that was being unleashed upon their allies seemed to have spared his own troops. That brought him some comfort.

"What is it?" The King snapped at his bodyguard.

"Enemy mages my Lord!" The man reported, gesturing up the hill with his lance. Tacitus followed the weapon and saw that there were indeed several groups of enemies several hundred yards up the hill. They were sitting in small holes and aiming bizarre looking staves towards the battlefield. Perhaps these were mages and killing them would stop whatever dark sorcery they had unleashed upon the Allied Army?

"Soldiers, do not lose heart at the plight of our allies! The enemy is before us, and we shall defeat them with or without the aid of our comrades. For Alguna! Charge!"

A chorus of battle-cries range out as Tacitus leveled his sword at the enemy scouts. The men lowered their lances and spurred their horses forward, kicking up a cloud of dust as they galloped up the hill to face their enemy...

And were greeted by a wall of fire.

* * *

"What is Blanc doing?!"

Neptune's words echoed the thoughts of Vert and Noire. They'd all met up to plan their meeting with the new army, Neptune had even talked about preparing fireworks and an airshow, but Blanc was missing. That made them suspicious, and their suspicions were confirmed when the thunder of artillery filled the air.

"I can't believe Blanc lied to us." Noire exclaimed, her voice a mixture of anger and disbelief as she watched the carnage unfold on the hologram. The Allied Army was doomed, there was nothing that could change that. They'd put everything they had into a single, massive assault and walked right into a kill-zone. "She said she would let us try and talk them down..." She recounted, clenching her fist in anger.

"...I'm actually not surprised..." Neptune and Noire both turned to Vert, waiting for her to explain. The Lastation CPU's face was downcast and her eyes sad. It was a moment before she continued.

"Do you remember what Blanc was like during the Console War?"

Noire's eyes immediately widened and her face paled. Neptune flinched and rubbed her shoulder, mumbling about scars and CPU healing factors.

"Are you sayin' ya think Blanc's gone berserk! Like seeing red, howling mad, no idea that you're neck deep in guts berserk?!" Neptune asked frantically, wildly waving her arms as she spoke.

"It would certainly seem so." Vert replied morosely. A dour silence hung in the air.

"We can't stop this..." Noire said softly, voicing the thoughts of her two fellow CPU's. "You both remember what she was like back in the Console War. She's just gonna keep fighting until she kills them all or something forces her to pull back. And we can't just force her to stop, she'd probably just attack us."

"But this isn't the Console War." Neptune spoke up. Noire prepared to rebuff the shorter CPU, but she stopped when she noticed the look in Neptune's eye. She recognised that look.

Neptune had a plan.

* * *

Duran had heard many legends about the Underworld in his time. They varied wildly, but they usually had one thing in common: a realm within the Underworld that was reserved for the vilest of scum, a realm of fire and misery, where the lost and the damned screamed as they were tormented until the end of time.

At this moment, Duran did not have to wonder what such a place would be like, because he was practically there. The Allied Army was no longer an army, it had been reduced to a mob of terrified soldiers, running around this way and that in a desperate attempt to avoid death. All around him men were consumed by fire as the ground erupted beneath them, seemingly at random. The air was filled with smoke, blood, the screams of the dying, the thunder of the explosions, and the scent of burnt flesh mixed with the pungent odor of the terrible magic of their enemy.

"Ligu!" Duran shouted as he weakly trudged across the battlefield. He'd been thrown from his horse by the magic of the Otherworlders some time ago, and emerged mostly unharmed. The same could not be said for his bodyguards.

"Ligu! Where are you?!" He called again. He should be trying to flee. This farce of a battle was over, and with its army destroyed Elbe would need him now more than ever. But... he couldn't leave his friend behind.

**"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

All the chaos around was drowned out by a near demonic roar, and a primal fear overrode Duran's body and sent him diving to the ground. Though the magic of the Otherworlders was indeed horrifying, it wasn't the worst thing on the battlefield. That "honor" belonged to a terrifying beast that seemed to have fallen from the heavens, right in the middle of the Allied Army. Duran had no idea what it was, all he'd seen was a blur of blue and white that smashed through their forces like an avalanche.

Duran lay still as stone for what felt like several eternities, before he finally recovered the courage to look up. His single eye quickly scanning the area for any trace of the monster. He sighed in relief when he found no sign of it, and shakily rose to his feet. A cynical part of him thought of how Molt would enjoy this sight: the Lion of Elbe shaking like a fresh faced recruit.

"Ligu! Can you hear me! Ligu!" Duran called again, even as he could feel himself losing hope. This battle had already claimed so many. What were the odds that his friend had somehow survived?

"D-Dur-Duran..."

It wasn't a shout, or a call, it was barely a pained gurgle. But somehow Duran heard it. He looked over to the direction the voice had come from and saw his friend, armor shattered and body bloodied, laying trapped beneath the charred remains of a horse. Duran immediately began crawling towards the man, his head swiveling back and forth in search of danger. The Duke weakly turned his head to face his friend, and for a moment Duran saw happiness in his eyes.

Just as before the spark of life left his body.

"NO!" Duran pushed himself to his feet and ran over to his fallen friend. "Ligu! Ligu, wake up! LIGU!" His pleas achieved nothing. Ligu was gone, his soul one of the thousands that Emroy had collected this day. Duran pulled Ligu's head to his chest, choking back sobs as tears ran down his face.

"Damn it..." Duran whispered, placing Ligu back on the ground and rising to his feet. He looked up and saw Alnus Hill looming over him, and an unholy anger filled his gut. Damn that hill! Damn that hill and the demons that had made it their home!

"Gods damn you!" He roared, picking up a small rock and hurling it at the hill with all his might. A petty act of defiance, but all he could offer. Why did this have to happen? What had they done to anger the gods in such a way that this-

_"We have drawn the enemy to the other side of the hill, my Lord. The plan is for you to attack the enemy tomorrow, striking their rear and capturing their camp in a pincer movement."_

And suddenly all of the pieces came together.

"Molt... you bastard..." Duran whispered, yet a mad smile slowly spread across his face. He slowly began to laugh, softly at first, but soon he was literally howling at the sky. Of course Molt had tricked them! The combined strength of the Sadera's vassals had the power to rival even the Imperial Army, and now the Emperor had found the perfect opportunity to neuter them.

He kept laughing even as the world around him was engulfed in flames.

* * *

_**Kill.**_

_Finally... relief._

_The rage that was tearing through her chest could finally be appeased._

_After six months of hiding and fighting to keep it restrained she could finally unleash her fury!_

_**Maim.**_

_And it was bliss!_

_How long had it been since she could cut loose? Truly cut loose?_

_How many centuries had it been since she had been able to abandon her senses and sink into the red haze?_

**_Burn._**

_Each swing of her axe rewarded with the sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking._

_Each strike brought a symphony pained screams and wails of agony._

**_Slaughter._**

_This was what it meant to be alive._

_This was true bliss._

"Blanc!"

"Blanc, snap out of it!"

Two voices calling her name pierced the fog in her mind. Blanc turned to face whoever was foolish enough to draw her—

_No._

Two near-identical figures touched down a few feet from her, their shoes stained with blood the moment they touched the ground.

"Blanc, you gotta stop this!" The pink haired one said. "It's usually super cool when you get angry—"

"But you're really scaring us!" Her blue haired twin interrupted.

_No. No. No!_

Blanc's axe disappeared as the mist began fading from her mind, washed by sheer horror. This wasn't supposed to happen! Rom and Ram weren't supposed to see her like this! They weren't ever supposed to find out about this! Blanc's hands gripped her skull as she threw her head back and screamed to the heavens in a mixture of rage and anguish. Her desire to sink back into a blood haze clashing with her horror at her sisters witnessing her oldest shame.

Ram decided to take a chance and stepped closer to her older sister, Rom practically clinging to Ram's back. "I-It's okay Blanc..." The younger twin stammered, running through a list of calming techniques. "Just... um... take deep breath, or try counting to ten..." It was a short list.

"...Remember your favorite book..." Rom said meekly.

That seemed to get a reaction. Blanc stopped screaming and, for a brief moment, locked eyes with her younger sisters. But that moment past as quickly as it came, and Blanc threw back her head and began wailing again, this time falling to her knees.

"...Sorry..." Rom muttered, looking away from her sister dejectedly.

"No, that was good." Ram reassured her. "She heard you, even though it was only for a little bit. Keep going." Rom hesitated, not used to being put on the spot like this. She anxiously looked at Ram, then at Blanc, then down at her feet, then she realized that her feet were covered in blood and that was really gross and scary, so she looked back up at Ram.

Her younger sister was giving her a soft reassuring smile, something that Rom wasn't used to, but it did its job. Rom took a deep breath to prepare herself, and stepped in front of Ram. She felt her sister place a hand on her shoulder, another attempt to reassure her. As ready as she would ever be, Rom began to speak.

"...Do you remember that time Nepgear came over, and we all wound up using you cushion?" She started, her voice nervous but with a note of determination. "You couldn't read with all of us leaning on you, but you didn't force us to get off either." A small smile appeared on Rom's face as she remembered. Blanc seemed to calm down a little, her screams quieting and her eyes becoming more focused.

"Yeah, or when we were helping you get better after we rescued you." Ram joined in. "You kept apologizing for leaving us alone, but then you started saying you were proud of us because we were so strong." Ram smiled proudly and puffed out her chest.

It was working. Blanc's screaming and thrashing had reduced to angry growls and twitches. She was nearly back, she just needed one more good push.

And there was no better push than a hug from her sisters.

White Heart vanished in a flash and was replaced by a very tired Blanc. The Goddess of Lowee slowly wrapped her arms around her sisters to return their embrace. "I'm sorry..." Blanc sniffled regretfully. "You were never supposed to see me like that." The twins didn't respond, simply returning to their human forms and hugging her tighter. It would have been a touching scene if they weren't in the middle of a battlefield.

"I was starting to worry that wouldn't work."

Blanc looked up to see Purple Heart descending towards her, with Black Heart and Green Heart hanging back in the air. For a moment the two CPU's locked eyes, Purple Heart's agitated blue orbs staring into Blanc's own regretful ones.

"I'm sorry..." Blanc apologized softly. "I just... the rage, it hurt so bad..."

Purple Heart let out a heavy sigh and storm of emotions blew across her face: anger, disappointment, relief, annoyance, sadness, and several more all appeared on her face for a few brief moments each.

"Let's just return to base for now. We can discuss this after everything has calmed down."

**A.N. And thus this chapter comes to an end.**

**This chapter... I'll be honest, I knew from the start I would never be happy with this chapter. I was initially planning on having Sadera's vassal's make peace with the CPU's, but unfortunately I couldn't pull that off. There was no way I could justify not having them immediately attack Sadera, and that's not the story I want to write. I usually say it's good when a story get's away from the writer, but not this time. **

**One good thing that came out of this chapter, is that it allowed me to touch on another subject that's going to come up a lot during this story: the CPU's during the Console War. I hinted at it earlier with Vert and IF, but I feel the need to bring it up here: they were not the same lovable gamers we all know and love, they were each completely devoted to destroying the other CPU's and their nations. Obviously things have changed since then, but the scars still linger.**

**Random Military Facts: The "War of Vengeance"**

**This is something that comes up a lot when people criticize GATE; there's always someone who complains about how "the Japanese invaded to get vengeance for Ginza, but they just spent the whole series sitting on a hill." That is simply not true. The Japanese stated quite clearly that their goals were to explore the Special Region, punish those responsible for attacking Ginza, and securing reparations. No modern nation would declare war with such an ill-defined war goal.**

**When you go to war, you need to have a clear goal in mind. Vengeance is not a clear goal, because how can you determine if vengeance has been achieved? When you've inflicted equal casualties? When you've destroyed the Empire's army? When you've burned Sadera to the ground? When you've saddled them with such extreme reparations that their nation will be trapped in poverty for generations? When you've exterminated every Saderan man, woman, and child, destroyed their cities, and salted their earth so nothing can ever grow again?**

**I'm actually quite curious; if you could attack Sadera in the name of "vengeance" what would your goal be?**

**Responding to Reviews:**

**General: I'm actually surprised how many people didn't know this, but yes, MAGES. and 5pb. are related. I can't remember if they were ever identified as cousins or just relatives, but cousins felt right to me.**

**archive4465: No, Rei will not be going to the Special Region. This story follows the True Ending to Victory, which means that Rei's powers were destroyed by Ultra. Rei and Iris Heart. There's no possible scenario in which she still has her powers, and the CPU's would never trust her considering her mental state.**

**As for your question about the dragons... you really didn't think that one through. If I'm gonna compare those two I'm gonna be using feats, and GATE's Flame Dragon has way more feats to its name a than an Ancient Dragon. It's powerful enough to take on an F-4 Phantom and can tank multiple hits from anti-armor weapons. The Ancient Dragons from Neptunia have never been shown doing anything special, so this match goes to the GATE verse.**

**PERORONCINO: By instant evacuation I assume you're talking about the Eject Button item? In that case they only seem to work in dungeons and would only be carried by adventurers and Guild agents, not civilians. I have no idea where you heard about a resurrection system but that just doesn't exist, plain and simple.**

**MiguellHazard2: That wasn't a plot hole, that was me trying to be funny. Sadly jokes don't translate into text very well.**

**Shadigon: Homosexuality wasn't actually persecuted until after the spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire, and even then it took a while. That's said, the Classical Era was not the "Homosexual Utopia" that many would-be historians (activists) like to portray it as. It was still viewed as different from Heterosexual romance. Considering how Hardy is a lesbian I don't think Homosexuality would be persecuted in the Special Region, though their gods do hate each other so I can imagine one of them doing that just to piss Hardy off.**

**Special Region people don't have levels since ****their world doesn't follow video game logic. If they cross through the Gate they do have that logic applied to them and become a Level 1, but since they don't know how any of that works I doubt they were even aware of it.**


	5. Searching For Answers

GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!

Chapter 2: Searching For Answers

**(A.N. Something I feel the need to mention real quick is that I typically use the manga appearances for Gate characters. So if my ****descriptions don't match up with what you saw in the anime, that's why.)**

The Imperial throne room was a massive, yet spartan chamber. One could easily fit a small circus within the massive room, yet there was little to look at. Little beyond the Emperor seated upon his throne and backed by several large windows. Then again, glorifying the monarch was the purpose of such a place. Emperor Molt rested his head against his fist as he listened to the Empire's Internal Minister, a bald man named Marcus, reported the outcome of the Allied Army's attempt to retake Alnus Hill.

"The outcome of the battle was disastrous; thirty-seven thousand of our vassals soldiers were killed in the attack, and they failed to even reach the enemy forces." Marcus reported dutifully, though there was a hint of disappointment in his voice. It was a sentiment Molt shared; thirty-seven thousand men was a significant loss, but it was still inferior to the losses suffered by the Imperial Army.

"Furthermore, there are some reports that claim the leaders of the nations involved fell in the battle, though they have yet to be confirmed." Marcus finished his report. Molt hummed thoughtfully at that news.

"Such reports are rarely reliable, they're often the product of panicked soldiers who fled the field of battle." Molt stated, keeping his voice neutral. Gears were spinning within his mind as thought over the situation, trying to decide if this could truly be considered a victory. Yes, Sadera's vassals had been weakened, and several would be in the middle of succession crisis, but they could still rally...

"For now we'll have to consider our vassals pacified. Our immediate focus must be on rebuilding our army." Molt spoke after a long silence.

"And what of the enemy occupying Alnus Hill?" Marcus asked.

"Burn all the farmland beyond the Dumas Mountains." Molt answered. "Poison the wells, drive the livestock towards the heartlands, relocate the people and burn their villages behind them. We will use the Dumas as a barrier, and leave the enemy with nothing." The Emperor explained, his voice still calm, as though this were a casual conversation.

"A scorched earth policy?" Marcus summarized, stroking his chin. "That could cause some issues with tax revenue and famine." He cautioned. This wasn't the first time the Empire had used such tactics, but they always came at a cost. Not that he was too worried, the Emperor had likely considered that.

"Yes, it is a shame that the nobility will have to cut back on their parties." Molt replied sarcastically, confirming Marcus' theory. "As for the famine, we can use the stores we stockpiled for our campaign through the Gate." Molt explained. Marcus nodded in acknowledgment.

"One final concern: I recently heard that a movement is forming behind Marquis Casel to overrule your decision and open peace negotiations with the invaders." Marcus revealed. Molt didn't seem worried, in fact, he actually smirked at the news.

"It won't last." Molt said dismissively. "Once I reveal that I know about this group, they'll be tripping over themselves to throw each other to the wolves." The Emperor shook his head in amusement.

"Very well your Highness. If you have no further need of me-"

"YOU'RE MAJESTY!"

The doors to the throne room flew open and a loud call split the air. Marcus spun around and Molt looked up, curious to see who was brazen enough to barge into his throne room. The intruder was a young woman, with dark red hair and fiery eyes to match, her athletic body draped in a formal dress that was, of course, red.

No, she was not Gamindustri's famous Wifey Hunter, she was the Imperial Princess: Pina Co Lada, (yes really) fifth child of Emperor Molt Sol Augustus, though two of her elder siblings had passed away, and the tenth in line for the Imperial throne. She was also the founder and commander of the Rose-Order of Knights.

"Pina, what are you doing here?" Molt asked. His relationship with his only daughter could be described as neutral. She had potential, he would not deny that, but she was still young and inexperienced. She was also too far down the line of succession for it to really be worth nurturing her talents.

"I just heard that the Allied Army was routed at Alnus." Oh, she actually believed that was a legitimate offensive. "Our army has been crippled, and our Vassals armies have been destroyed. How do you plan to lead the Empire through this crisis?" She asked, no, demanded, fixing her father with a fiery glare.

Molt resisted the urge to sigh. Pina, like all of his children, lacked any form of emotional control.

"Please calm down princess." Marcus implored, raising his hands to pacify the girl. "We've already begun plans to rebuild the army-"

"And how long will that take?!" Pina cut him off, swinging her arm as though to swat away the option. "Our lands are unprotected from these Otherworlders, and you propose we simply sit back and hope they remain on Alnus? You cowardly snake!" The princess spat, pointing an accusing finger at the Minister.

"Calm yourself, Pina." Molt's command immediately brought an end to the quarrel. Pina and Marcus immediately moved away from each other, the princess eyeing her father apprehensively.

"The biggest problem, at the moment, is that we have no information on our enemy." The Emperor stroked his beard, feigning thoughtfulness as he locked eyes with hers. "Why don't you take your Order and scout out the enemy forces, since you seem so eager for results?" He proposed. All traces of anger were swept away from the young woman's face, for they were replaced by shock. Her eyes widened and a gasp escaped from her mouth as the full implications of her father's words hit her.

"Take my Knights... and..." She couldn't even finish her sentence. She was too stunned.

"You're always insisting that they're more than just an honor guard, this is your chance to prove yourself."

Pina was silent, her mind spinning as she desperately tried to make sense of what had just happened. She'd come in to demand her father explain his plan to repel the invaders from Alnus, but she'd somehow wound up being ordered to the frontlines. He was correct: she had been demanding the Knights of the Rose be allowed to fight for a long time, but if the stories she'd heard about the invaders were true...

Still, she was a soldier of the Saderan Empire, and her Emperor had just given her an order. She knelt down on trembling knees, and with her voice trembling, gave her reply.

"As you command, your Highness."

* * *

The atmosphere within the CPU's Command Center was not what one would expect from a victorious army. A dour air hung over the command room as the four CPU's stood around the table in silence. None of knew how to start this conversation. They rarely talked about the Console War, and when they did it was always done with great caution. It was like walking through a minefield.

Noire opened her mouth, then closed it.

Vert glanced up, then returned her eyes to the table.

Neptune looked around at her companions, then decided her shoes were more interesting.

Blanc sighed heavily, then spoke.

"I used to keep it all in."

All eyes turned to Lowee's CPU.

"Back during the Console War, I used to keep all my rage bottled up. Like the power meter in a fighting game." Blanc explained, her distant gaze fixed on her hands, which she slowly clenched and unclenched. The other Goddesses remained silent, patiently waiting for Blanc to continue. They were already aware of this, it'd taken all three of them to wear her down enough to listen when they proposed peace. But they also understood that Blanc needed to do this at her own pace.

"After the Gate opened, I got angry. Angrier than I'd been in a long time." A hint of anger crept into her voice and her hands curled into fists. "I-I didn't even realize I was doing it again. I just remember thinking that I couldn't let it out until I had an enemy in front of me. Then I'd be able to make those bastards-"

"Blanc!"

Neptune's cry stopped the brunette from slipping further into her memories. Blanc gasped as though she'd been underwater, planting her hands on the table for support as her legs sagged. The other girls moved to help her, but she waved them away, pushing herself back up.

"You've been keeping all this anger inside you for three months..." Vert had to say it to really believe it. She'd always considered Blanc's outbursts to be cute, if a little scary. To think that they were keeping her from turning back into what she once was.

"It hurt." Blanc murmured. "It felt like there was something clawing around inside of my chest." Neptune stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

Noire's eye twitched.

"It's okay. We'll all help you keep as cool as Loweean ice cream." Neptune promised. Blanc looked thankful for a moment, a soft smile on her lips, but then her face became serious and she gently removed Neptune's hand.

"Neptune... this doesn't change anything." Blanc stated. Her voice firm and her face resolute. "I admit that what happened was a tragedy, and if i could undo it I would, but that doesn't change my opinion that we should hit those Saderan bastards with everything we've got." Blanc asserted, punching her fist into her palm to emphasize her point.

"What?!" Neptune exclaimed, taken aback by her friends declaration.

"You can't be serious." Noire protested, frowning at the shorter CPU.

"Why are you so intent on causing another bloodbath?" Vert demanded, giving Blanc a dirty look.

"Because these dumbasses are just like us when the Console War started: swollen egos and delusions of grandeur." Blanc shot back. Her reasoning caught the green CPU off guard, leaving them silent and allowing Blanc to continue.

"The Console War taught us the hard way that war isn't a game, and there's nothing glorious about it. But these assholes haven't learned that lesson. They haven't experienced a war brutal enough to teach them." There was no hatred in her voice as she spoke. Anger? Certainly, but no hatred. There was, however, conviction. Blanc truly believed that utterly destroying the Saderan's pride was for their own good.

And none of them could deny that she had a point.

* * *

Partus didn't know where he was, where he was going, nor how long he'd been traveling for. The only thing he knew for certain was that he had to get as far away from Alnus as possible.

Not long ago, Partus Vi Sepor had been a member of Alguna's elite heavy cavalry, the most prestigious military unit in the entire kingdom. Being the son of a mere Earl, it was a great honor for him to have been accepted into such an esteemed group. When he'd been told they would do battle against a foe that had matched the Imperial Army, he was filled with enthusiasm. It would be a battle that would go down in history, and he would be able to say that he'd fought there!

He never considered imagined they would be defeated.

The horseman was now a shadow of his former self: his armor, which once shined with the royal green of Alguna, was now charred and broken. The face that had smiled not long ago, was now blackened by soot. His horse, his noble Julius, had been reduced to a pile of meat, unsuited for even a pigs meal.

Now he was lost in some forest in the Empire, his weight resting on his spear as he desperately limped away from the accursed hill. He'd barely eaten or slept in days, but he didn't care. He'd seen what the Otherworlders sorcery had done to his comrades, and what their pet monster had done to the Allied Army. He didn't want to die like that; blown apart and unrecognizable. He didn't want to die at all.

"Home..." The word barely escaped his parched throat. His leg suddenly gave out, and he collapsed against a tree. Frustration and fear bloomed in his chest as he slid down the trunk to the ground. He began rolling onto his stomach, but even that effort got him wheezing from exertion. He moved his arms beneath his body and tried to rise to his feet, but it was no use. He was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open, much less see straight, so getting up was out of the question. He collapsed onto the ground as his arms gave out, wheezing as his tired lungs fought for air.

So this was how it ended? Dying from exhaustion and exposure in some nameless forest? Partus didn't even have the energy to feel anger or disappointment. All he could do was lie there and wait for the last few sparks of life left his body.

* * *

5pb. had never really been a fan of spy movies, or spy anything really. It had simply never appealed to her as much the Idol genre that had dominated most of her life, except for those mad science movies that MAGES. had always forced her to watch. Many nightmares had followed.

Yet, as she made her way through the alley behind Two Nep Hospital, in her disguise she used to visit MAGES. incognito, she couldn't deny that spy music was playing inside her head.

OK, time for some context. The bluenette idol had been resting in her hotel room, which had basically become her home since MAGES. was hospitalized, trying to come up with new song lyrics. After a few hours of nothing (we've all been there, am I right?) she was about to go to bed, when she suddenly received a message on her phone.

_'I found something. Meet me at the hospital, but don't come in the front. If you cut through the alleys behind the hospital you'll find a back entrance. Make sure you aren't followed.'_

_-Dr. Bullfrog_

So here she was: Gamindustri's most famous Idol, wandering through an alley, after dark, in a disguise that looked a lot like a certain Underling... definitely not something she'd though she'd ever be doing. The fact that her stomach was turning over and she could feel her heart pounding away certainly wasn't helping matters.

Finally, after what felt like hours of wandering down alleyways, that she swore were getting tighter, 5pb. arrived at her destination. A small, unassuming door at the back of the hospital. She quickly looked around to make sure no one was watching and gave the door a tug. It was locked.

"What now?" 5pb. mumbled, feeling a wave of nervous nausea wash over her. She looked around again, hoping that no one would stumble onto the suspicious figure who looked like they were trying to break into the back of a hospital. She really needed a better disguise.

"Focus." She told herself, trying to come up with some sort of plan. Checking her surroundings again, she yanked her phone out of her pocket and punched in a quick 'I'm here' and sent it to Dr. Bullfrog. Then she waited. And waited. If it weren't for the clock on her phone she would have thought she'd been waiting hours.

Finally, there was a soft 'click' and the door creaked open to reveal the frog-like doctor. Once he saw the Idol standing outside, he opened the door and beckoned her in.

"What did you find?" 5pb. asked nervously.

"It's best I show you. Please come to my office." The doctor insisted, gesturing for her to follow him. With no other option, besides going home with her questions unanswered, the Idol followed him. She couldn't help but fidget anxiously as she walked through the empty corridors. The anticipation of finding out what he found, coupled with her active imagination, was making the wait torturous.

"So why all the secrecy?" 5pb. asked, hoping that talking would settle her nerves.

"Your cousin's experiment, which she claims was sabotaged, opened a portal to another dimension." The doctor began. His voice was calm and relaxed, as though he was reassuring a patient. "Then, army from that dimension immediately marched through, as though they knew the Gate was going to appear. That doesn't sound like it was a coincidence." He finished as they arrived at his office and stepped inside.

Dr. Bullfrogs office was a small room consisting of three chairs, a desk, and two small bookshelves. The shelves and walls were decorated with various medical awards and pictures of the short doctor with various patients. That was the main reason 5pb. hadn't moved MAGES. to a hospital in Leanbox: despite working in one of the zaniest hospitals in Gamindustri, Dr. Bullfrog was one of the best doctors on the planet.

"So you think that someone with some connection to the Empire attacked MAGES. and opened the Gate?" The idol summarized as the doctor booted up his computer. It made sense, but... "You don't think that seems a little... far fetched?" She asked. It sounded like something MAGES. or IF would come up with... or Blanc... or Neptune... or Peashy. OK, there were a lot of people in her social circle who would think of an idea like that, but that didn't make it any more reasonable.

"A few years ago the idea of a criminal syndicate led by a dark god sounded far fetched. Then the Gamindustri Graveyard appeared, and the CPU's vanished."

...She couldn't really argue with that logic.

"Ok, so what did you want to show me?"

"This." Several clicks later and several pictures of MAGES. appeared on the screen. 5pb. cringed at the sight of her cousins battered and bruised body, feeling her stomach flip over for the third time that night. "I understand that this is difficult, but please, try to endure." Dr. Bullfrog urged her. 5pb. complied, doing her best to brace herself for what she would have to see. Now that she was focused, the doctor pulled up an image of the back of MAGES. head and began to his recite his findings.

"After your cousin awoke the first time, I decided to review her previous physical examinations, and conduct one of my own." He began, moving his cursor over a large bruise that was mostly hidden by MAGES.' hair. "The first thing I noticed was this contusion, that means bruise, right here: the other bruises on her head are relatively small and circulars, as would be expected from a wound caused by falling debris. This contusion however, is long and narrow. It leads me to believe that she was struck over the head with something." He paused and turned back to 5pb. checking to see if she could keep up with him. The idol was looking at the screen with a thoughtful expression.

"So you're saying that some knocked MAGES. unconscious and sabotaged her experiment?" 5pb. summarized. The doctor nodded in confirmation and continued his explanation, changing to a picture of MAGES.' hands.

"The other point of interest are these marks on her wrists." He moved the cursor to highlight his point: a pair of soft, red marks around MAGE.' wrists. "They're called ligature marks, and they're only made some form of rope or cord." As he finished explaining, the frog-like man reached down into his desk drawer and produced a small glass vial, which he then handed to 5pb. The idol held up the vial to examine it and noticed a small piece of white fiber inside.

"Where did you find this?" She asked intently. She could feel her mood changing, the anxiety in her stomach giving way to determination as more information came to light.

"In a small cut on your cousins wrist." The doctor revealed. "I sent it down to the lab to see if we could find any useful information, and we discovered that magic was used in its creation." It took 5pb. a few seconds to realize the implications of that statement, but then she remembered that there was only one nation who's industry heavily relied on magic.

"So whoever attacked MAGES.-"

"-was in Lowee shortly before." The doctor explained. 5pb. nodded in agreement. The determination she'd felt growing inside of her had burned away the last of her doubts. All of her friends were in another dimension, and her only family member had fallen back into a coma right after waking up. If she wanted to get to the bottom of this, she'd be on her own. But there was no way she could ignore this, or wait for her friends to help her.

She was going to Lowee.

* * *

With the Allied Army destroyed and no further threats on the horizon, the Gamindustri Coalition Force could now continue the next stage of its operation: learning more about the surrounding area. They couldn't begin any sort of offensive without some knowledge of both the local terrain and wildlife. Getting to know the locals wouldn't hurt either, if it was possible.

It was the perfect job for the Wind Walker of Gamindustri... and some friends.

"It sure was nice of Nep-Nep to give us this truck." Compa commented happily as the vehicle rumbled down the cobblestone road. "And your driving is really good Iffy." She added, tossing a compliment to the brunette sitting next to her.

"It's been a while since I've driven anything like this, but I practice when I can." IF replied, shooting Compa an appreciative glance before returning her eyes to the road. Just then, they heard the sound of something clunking in the back of the truck. "Everything alright back there?" IF called back to their final party member.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about." An upbeat voice responded. There were several more clanks, followed by the sound of footsteps. Their final party member stuck her head out of the back, revealing a girl with short red hair and friendly orange eyes. This was Falcom: musician, popular writer (though few knew it), and self proclaimed "stock adventuress."

"I was checking the supply crates we were given when we left. I had to tie everything back down." Falcom explained, holding onto the back of the seat to keep her balance in the moving vehicle.

"Ooh, what did we get?" Compa asked eagerly, likely imagining the boxes being filled with all manner of goodies.

"Well the box that Neptune gave us was filled with merchandise from the different nations." Falcom began. "Not anything expensive either; just cheap knick-knacks that any kid could buy at a store." Both of the other girls gave her confused looks. Why would Neptune give them a box full random trinkets?

"There was a note inside: it said that we're supposed to use them as gifts to help make friends with the locals... at least I think that's what it said. It was covered in pudding stains." Compa giggled and IF did her best to hide a smile. It was nice to know Neptune had returned to her usual self, though the idea was probably Histoire's

"Noire's box was full of a bunch of scientific equipment." Falcom continued. "She also asked us to collect data on everything we find while we're out, and I mean everything." There was a flash of light as the note appeared in her hand, which she then handed to Compa. The clumsy nurse began reading over the piece of paper, but the growing confusion on her face made it clear that she didn't understand many of the big words that were written on it. Finally, she admitted defeat and handed the paper back to Falcom.

"My brain hurts." Compa moaned, sinking deeper into her seat.

"Yeah, I like to think I'm pretty smart, but even I couldn't understand most of that stuff." Falcom admitted, sending the note back to her inventory. "The Lowee box was sorta the same thing, except it was all magical instead of machines." She informed them.

"I'll take a look at that later." IF volunteered. She was the only member of their group with any real magical knowledge. Compa could heal and she had some offensive abilities, but she wasn't an expert. Falcom knew some trivia pieces from her years of adventuring, but not enough to handle complex scanning rituals.

"The last one was from Vert. It's just a bunch of preserved food, but her note says it should be better than military rations. She also said she packed some of your fav-" The truck suddenly swerved, causing Compa and Falcom to cry out in surprise as they were thrown around the interior. Compa was lucky enough to have a seatbelt, but Falcom had to hold on for dear life as the vehicle lurched to a halt.

"Sorry." IF apologized sheepishly. Falcom, who had somehow managed to avoid being thrown into anything, rubbed her neck and looked over to IF. The Guild agent's face was as red as the Adventuress' hair. Falcom made a mental note not to mention anything related to her relationship with Vert while in a moving vehicle. She'd been in enough shipwrecks, and didn't want to try her luck with a car crash.

Best to change the subject.

"So, how have you two been doing? I haven't seen you since after we took down Rei." Falcom asked as the vehicle began to move again.

"Well I've been working at the hospital and living with Nep-Nep like always." Compa happily told her. "I almost made it a whole month without a lawsuit." Falcom and IF sweatdropped at Compa's words as the nurse smiled innocently. It was technically an improvement, but normal nurses didn't have people suing them every month.

"That's... good to hear." Falcom complemented with an awkward smile. Thankfully Compa didn't notice and went back to enjoying the ride. "And I'd imagine you're busy with Guild work?" She questioned as she turned to IF.

"That's right: fighting monsters, climbing towers, investigating dungeons, the usual." IF reported with a confident smirk. She was clearly glad to move away from the incident a few minutes ago. "That reminds me, you haven't seen any trace that Underling, have you?"

Falcom shook her head.

"I thought not." IF sighed, feeling a burst of frustration. The fact that she couldn't catch one thug really agitated her. She pushed it out of her mind and focused on the conversation. "So what have you been up to? I assume you've been adventuring like always?" IF inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"You bet. Especially with that portal to the Ultra Dimension open." Falcom smiled. A small grin appeared on IF's face, likely from her friends infectious enthusiasm. But then a question popped into her mind, and the grin wilted.

"Were you, uh..." IF's hesitation caused both Falcom and Compa to give her curious looks. "Were you in Planeptune when the Gate opened?" She finally asked. Falcom wasn't surprised by the question, but she was surprised that she wasn't surprised.

"No... I was actually on a tropical island." The adventuress replied awkwardly, a very sheepish look on her face.

"Wait, you were on vacation?" Compa asked disbelievingly. Falcom loved adventuring, there was no way she'd-

"Uh, not exactly..." Falcom trailed off, and now she looked embarrassed. IF didn't get it, why was Falcom getting embarrassed about a vacation to an... island.

"Did you get shipwrecked again?"

"Yes..."

IF couldn't help but sigh and Compa was looking a little nervous, unsure if Falcom's poor luck extended to other vehicles. Falcom scratched the back of her head, trying to think of something to break the awkward atmosphere. Getting them to forget about her frequent nautical mishaps would be a nice bonus.

"Iffy look, a road sign!" Compa said eagerly, pointing forward. Sure enough, there was a small wooden sign stuck into the ground, pointing towards a small dirt road leading off into the distance. IF pulled up next to the sign and stopped. Compa stuck her head out the window and looked at the sign. It was obviously written in the language from the Special Region, but the Guild had given all their agents translation booklets using information from their prisoners.

Compa spent several minutes looking at the sign, her face scrunched in concentration as she tried to translate the strange, squiggly lines that formed the Saderan language. Finally, she turned back to her friends and made her report.

"It says Cold Vegetables. There must be a grocery store over there!"

Both of the girls sweatdropped at Compa's carefree response. IF sighed and Falcom smiled and shook her head.

"What?" Compa asked, completely oblivious.

"Let me take a look." IF offered, giving her friend a reassuring smile as she crawled over to look out the window. There was a soft light as her translation booklet appeared in her hand from her hammerspace. She thumbed through the book and arrived at the alphabet translation. Looking between the book and the sign, she quickly found that what Compa thought was "Vegetables" was actually "Village," so she'd gotten that much right. The first word was giving her some trouble, but considering the second word was "village" it was reasonable to assume the first word was a place name, so it wouldn't have a translation.

C-O-D-A Village.

**A.N. And thus this chapter comes to an end.**

**A nice, semi-relaxed chapter after the slaughter that happened last time. Both this chapter and the next one will basically be filler, used to set up some of the plot points for future story arcs. Hopefully you guys will enjoy some of the new stuff I'm adding in.**

**You may have noticed that I reduced the casualties suffered by the Allied Army suffered in the battle. The reason for this is that only Lowee's forces engaged, the rest stood down. While Blanc is incredibly powerful, she's only one person and the amount of damage she can do on a large battlefield is very limited.**

**I'd also like to announce that we've broken the 10,000 view mark. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, faving, and following this story. I hope you'll enjoy it as it continues.**

**Random Military Facts: Scorched Earth**

**This is something that really annoys me about Gate: whenever people talk about Molt's scorched earth campaign, it's always painted as the act of a brainless idiot who was completely ignorant of the JSDF's superior logistics. This depiction has two problems: the first is that the "superior logistics" of modern militaries are completely reliant on fuel, which has to be transported through the Gate, and I already talked about how that thing is a logistical nightmare.**

**The second is that the further you get from the Gate, the harder it is to refuel and resupply. This is an ancient problem that's as old as warfare itself: the further you get from your own territory, the harder it is to supply your men. Any pre-Desert Storm force would struggle to push too far from the Gate, and conventional military wisdom states that a Blitzkrieg attack will be forced to stop and resupply after about 150 miles.**

**Responding to Reviews:**

**General 1: To those of you who have been asking why I was unable to find a less violent solution to the last chapter, there were two things that caused me trouble. The first was that the CPU's would have tried to avoid any loss of life, the second was that I couldn't justify having the Allied Army not attack the helpless Sadera. I either had to destroy the Allied Army, or create several new plot points centered around the Allied Army pushing into the Empire.**

**General 2: Some of you have pointed out how the Console War didn't occur in the Hyper Dimension, and that it's exclusively a Super Dimension plot point. I actually forgot about that when I began planning this story, and didn't remember until after I'd contacted my previous Beta. I would have had to radically rework the plot in order to make it work, and probably would have lost interest in the story. I humbly ask that you indulge my head canon for the rest of the story, as I did my best to make it work.**

**General 3: In regards to Blanc going crazy; keep in mind that that's an old part of her personality from back during the Console War. In fact, you could say it's the reason she explodes so often now, and she didn't even realize she was holding in her anger again. **

**It's also based off ****experience: there was a time when I decided I wasn't going to get angry anymore, so I just kept my anger inside and never expressed it. That was a big mistake; the physical and mental symptoms were a living hell, and obviously I couldn't keep it all in forever. Thankfully a friend convinced me to let my anger out, and after a while I was back to normal.**

**Blazblade: Pina's "piss poor" plan would have worked if Tyuule hadn't poisoned Molt. Molt was planning to allow the peace ****negotiations to proceed. Granted, he was planning on playing hard ball and not just rolling over like Pina did, but Japanese peace terms were ludicrously fair compared to the "winner take all" style of warfare common in the Special Region. The only reason the war continued was because Tyuule put Zorzal in charge.**

**Red Alert 3: They don't have super weapons, because they don't need them. The armies of Gamindustri are only used to defend against monster attacks. If something shows up that's too powerful for them to handle they can just call on Guild agents or their CPU. And even if they did have super weapons they wouldn't waste them on the Empire.**

**I've said it before, and I'll say it again: it's pointless to use a multi-billion dollar weapon system on an enemy you can beat with conventional guns.**

**MiguelHazard2: I covered most of your stuff in the general section, so I don't have much to say here. I am however happy to hear that you've been inspired to write your own GATE/Neptunia story. One of the reasons I write is because, I hope that my works will one day inspire others to express themselves to create stories of their own, assuming i ever get published. I'd be happy to help with your story, if you'd like. Just send me a PM.**

**Archive4465: I don't have an update ****schedule. I put out chapters whenever I can.**

**xbox432: Keep in mind that Rory loves causing chaos and anything that disrupts the status quo. She's also still "good" prefering to kill bandits and criminals, despite worshipping the god of Murder and Violence. There are still plenty of reasons why she'd join up with Neptune and co. even without Itami.**

**And thank you for your service.**

**Siatru: The reason Purple Heart didn't get angry at Blanc was because she understood that Blanc, to a degree, didn't really know what she was doing. She was very upset at what had happened, but she knew that getting angry wouldn't solve anything.**

**As for visualizing the armies of Gamindustri... I admit I've been putting that off as long as possible because I'm not very good at descriptions. I was planning on giving descriptions when the recon team got back, since I could use the excuse of an outside perspective to explain why I was describing them then instead of earlier.**

**BrokenLifeCycle: Share Energy doesn't naturally exist in the Special Region, so having people change religions wouldn't do anything.**


	6. Culture Shock

GATE: Thus the Empire was Nepped!

Chapter 3: Culture Shock

Louis yawned and stretched his arms above his head. It was almost noon, yet the Elder of Coda Village felt as though he'd just woken up. Normally, the old ex-soldier would have been walking around the village, offering help anywhere he could. But it was the time of year when the Empire sent out tax collectors, which meant paperwork. So, he'd spent most of his day sitting in his office and reviewing the villages finances.

He almost wished something interesting would happen, but his time in the military had taught him-

"Excuse me Elder, but some strange people are asking to meet you."

-Too slow.

Louis looked up at the woman who had just entered his office; a brown haired woman named Risette, she was a housewife who occasionally helped at the village tavern.

"What do you mean strange?" The Elder questioned, giving her a curious look.

"Well, their clothes are really weird, and their voices sound funny." Ah, that explained it. Coda was a very sheltered place, its inhabitants didn't have a lot of experience with the outside world. It's likely that these people were just from the fringes of the Empire, one of it's vassal states-

"Also, they're all girls. And I mean young girls: they can't be older than sixteen, and even that feels like a stretch." OK, that was unusual. Women-no, girls traveling alone?

Perhaps they could be the children of nobility, but what were they doing all the way out here? And it sounded like they were completely unattended: no servants, no guards...

"I'll go out and speak with them." Louis decided, standing up and groaning as he stretched again. It would give him an excuse to get out of the office, at least. Taking his hat from a nearby rack, the old man followed Risette out of the house.

He was greeted with a rather unusual sight: the entire village seemed to have gathered around in front of his house, but they were keeping a healthy distance from the trio of strangely dressed girls standing at his front door. And Risette hadn't exaggerated, they were young, barely old enough to marry.

The girl in the center of the group, who he assumed was the leader, had a calm, yet professional air about her. She was wearing dark blue... cape? Cloak? He wasn't sure, he'd never seen a cloak with sleeves before. She also had what looked like a leaf growing out of her hair. Then there was the fact that she seemed to be wearing pants, which would be odd enough without the fact that they were so short as to border on non-existence.

The next girl had long, ginger hair and was wearing the fuzziest shirt Louis had ever seen. She was also wearing the shortest dress he'd ever seen. A bubbly smile was painted on her face, giving her an innocent, almost child-like charm.

And the final girl had darker red hair and an even more brazen outfit. Her shirt didn't even cover her abdomen! In fact, calling it a shirt seemed rather generous. But her face had such a friendly, caring look on her face, he couldn't help but think of an elder sibling.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you." The leaf haired girl greeted him in strangely accented Saderan. "My name is Ay-Ef. These are my friends, Falcon and Koopa. We're adventurers who are traveling through the area." She introduced herself and her companions. One of them, Koopa if he'd heard right, waved at him politely.

Louis was getting more confused by the second. Adventurers? He'd never met an adventurer worthy of the title; just drunken braggarts and spoiled noble children. And all of them had been men, obviously. What in the Underworld was going on?

"The pleasure is all mine." Louis hid his confusion behind his best "wise elder" act. If he was careful, he could probably get some information out of them, but it would require some clever words on his part. "So, what brings you to our sleepy little town?" He asked politely.

"As I said, we're adventurers, but we don't know the area very well. We heard about your village and we figured it'd be a good place to gather information." The girl replied, still with a friendly smile. Louis found her choice of words interesting. "Gather information" was a very strange way of asking about the local area.

"Of course. I have some maps in my office you can look at." The Elder offered politely, pushing open the door to his home. If he talked to her in private, then maybe he could get her to reveal more. The leader of the group, Ay-Ef, which was the strangest name he'd ever heard, seemed to agree with this, and began speaking to her companions in a language he'd never heard before.

They seemed to agree with whatever she'd said, and she walked into the house. "Anyone else need my advice, or are you just slacking off?" Louis called to the crowd, his tone stern but not chastising. The villagers began slowly dispersing, already beginning to converse and return to their daily duties. The only one who remained was Risette.

The old man gave her a questioning look.

"Before they showed up I was coming to tell you that some of the boys have gone off into the woods." Risette explained. "Apparently one of them started a rumor that there's a nest of goblins in one of the old caves, and now they've all gone off to search for it." Louis sighed. Children being adventurous was not unusual, but the forests around Coda could be dangerous, and with the battles at Alnus that rumor could turn out to be true!

"Get a search party together, and tell them to bring their pitchforks." He ordered. Risette nodded and hurried off to complete her orders. Neither of them noticed that Falcon seemed was more alert than a few moments before.

With that taken care of he closed the door and guided the girl to his office. "Please take a seat. I'll have those maps for you in a moment." He offered politely, as he leaned down to begin searching through his desk.

"Thank you, but that's not the reason I'm here. Not the whole reason anyway." Ay-Ef informed him, taking the seat he'd offered.

"Have you heard about the Gate?"

His heart stopped. Not literally, but that was what it felt like. Word of the Empire's defeat at the Gate, and the subsequent defeat of the Allied Army, had reached Coda. But the villagers had no idea what that truly meant: there was an enemy at their doorstep. He'd seen what happened when an invading army reached a village, he'd even taken part in such sackings himself, when he was younger.

"So, you're a scouting force then." He stated, rising to his full height and turning to the girl. He did his best to put on a strong face, but he was certain that his despair was showing. His duty as Elder was to protect and guide the village, and that meant doing everything he could to minimize the damage of their inevitable looting. If he was lucky they'd only lose their food stores.

"That's correct. My friends and I were sent to gather information about the local area, and any nearby villages." The brunette explained. Her attitude was strangely neutral: there was no arrogance, no pride, no anger, or anticipation of what was to come. There was only calm professionalism.

"I assume you want to know about our defenses, food stores, and the wealth of our home?" He shot back, surprising both her and himself with the bite in his voice. He didn't want to anger her, but he could feel a tirade building in the back of his mind, eager to be unleashed. The Otherworlders would likely burn the village anyway, so what was the harm?!

"Actually, we were hoping to learn about local culture: economy, government, religion, those sorts of things."

...What?

His mind completely froze up, his previous fear and rage completely crushed under a metaphysical mountain of utter bewilderment. Since when did invading armies give a damn about local government? Such things wouldn't matter when said locals were dead or enslaved. Everything this girl had just said was so utterly alien to anything he knew about war. His moment of cognitive dissonance had now stretched on for several minutes, long enough that Ay-Ef became worried.

She pushed herself out of her chair and walked over to him. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, waving her hand in front of his face.

The old man finally began to stir, closing his mouth, which had been hanging open for several minutes, and fixed the girl with a desperate stare. "Y-You're not going to destroy our village?" He was certain he sounded mad. It wouldn't surprise him; the fear of Coda being destroyed had been festering in the back of his mind for months. And now that those fears were finally in front of him, albeit in a strange form, he'd snapped.

"Of course not." She seemed slightly offended by his question, as though there was something wrong with what he'd just said. "The world I come from, Gamindustri, is a peaceful place. There hasn't been a war there in hundreds of years." She explained.

The Elder's mind came crashing to a halt as he processed what she'd just said. A world without war? What kind of fantasy world did she come from?

* * *

The Coalition's base was coming along quite nicely. From above it looked like an eight-pointed star, with two points being occupied by one of the four nations. The eastern points went to Planeptune, and boasted many dome shaped buildings. The northern section went to Lowee, and resembled a giant mushroom patch. Lastation had been given the west, and their blocky, utilitarian buildings were already laid out in an efficient grid. Lastly, the south had gone to Leanbox, and despite their reputation for bulky consoles their military infrastructure was actually rather compact and efficient.

The center of the base, where the Gate was located, was a "neutral zone" where elements of all four nations could be found. It also hosted such locations as the CPU's Headquarters and the Mess Hall.

Which is where Nepgear was.

After picking up a tray of food Nepgear began looking for a place to sit. She could have just sat anywhere, the soldiers would be more than happy to offer her a seat, but she didn't want to be rude. After a few moments of looking it seemed like she'd be eating back at HQ —again— when she noticed a familiar face: Uni. Her girlfriend, the thought once again releasing butterflies into her stomach, was sitting at one of the tables and talking animatedly with some soldiers in the black uniform of Lastation.

"Uni!" Nepgear called as she approached the Lastation Candidate with a spring in her step. Uni looked up from her conversation, pleasantly surprised to see Nepgear practically skipping towards her. The site almost caused the Uni to giggle. There were times when she couldn't help but compare Nepgear to a puppy.

"Hey, Nepgear." Uni greeted, scooting over to give her girlfriend some room to sit. "How have things been going with you and Neptune?" Uni asked. She'd been busy since coming through the Gate, and she hadn't had time to talk with her friends.

"She's still a little upset about... well everything, but she's been fine." Nepgear explained, sounding a little upset despite the good news.

"I take it she's trying to get out of work like always?" Uni asked.

"Well, it's harder for her since she's in a building with auto-locking doors and soldiers everywhere..." Nepgear trailed off, her cheeks reddening slightly as she realized that that wasn't really helping her case. "S-So, what have you been up to?" She asked, hoping to shift Uni's focus away from Neptune's lack-of work ethic.

"Just helping my sister with paperwork, like always." Uni replied with a shrug. It was almost disappointing that traveling to another world had had almost no effect on her daily life. She was just doing paperwork in the Special Region instead of the Lastation. Kind of a let down.

"Really?" Nepgear asked, surprised. Uni raised a questioning eyebrow. "I just figured you'd be working on weapons, since you love guns so much." Nepgear explained.

"I would if I had the time, but there's so much..." Uni stopped mid-sentence as she realized that the rest of the table had gone quiet. She turned to look at the soldiers she'd been talking to a minute before, and found them all sitting in awkward silence. Nepgear quickly caught on as well.

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry for interrupting you." She apologized, realizing how rude she'd been by just jumping into a conversation with Uni.

"No, it's alright." One of the soldiers replied, clearly uncomfortable with the conversation. "We'll just, uh, leave you two alone." She said as she and her companions abandoned the table, leaving the two Candidates alone. Nepgear opened her mouth to call to them, but Uni stopped her.

"I'm really sorry." Nepgear apologized, dipping her head.

"It's okay." The raven haired Candidate said with a dejected sigh. Nepgear tried to comfort her by giving her a pat on the shoulder. "Nepgear, does anything about the mess hall... stand out to you." Uni asked suddenly.

"How do you mean?"

"I've been eating here a lot since it was set up, and I thought I noticed something weird. I wanted to get your opinion." Uni explained. Nepgear, realizing that Uni wasn't just bothered by the soldiers leaving, began looking around the room for anything out of the ordinary. Unfortunately, she didn't really know what to look for. There were a bunch of long tables with soldiers eating at them, a kitchen, and a serving area. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Shaking her head, Nepgear took another look around. Again, she didn't see anything wrong. Just a bunch of soldiers eating...

Wait a second!

As Nepgear looked around she saw that all of the tables were separated by nation: some of them were only Planeptune, others Lastation, etc. No one was talking to anyone outside of their own nation, they were barely even looking at each other. The Loweean soldiers seemed especially isolated, with everyone giving them mean looks, which, in a way, wasn't surprising given the incident their Goddess caused along them with that army the other day.

"No one's talking to anyone from outside of their own country, and it looks like Lowee is being ostracized." Nepgear reported to her girlfriend.

"Exactly, this isn't one army, it's four." Uni remarked. "Those guys I was talking to were Lastation snipers. I was hoping that bringing you over would help them open up to the other soldiers, but well..." Uni let her voice trail off, knowing she didn't need to finish. Nepgear may not have known much about the military, other than the technical specs of all Planeptune's equipment, but she understood why the lack-of cohesion could be dangerous.

"Well... maybe we could try to do something about it?" Nepgear suggested anxiously. Uni looked over at her, clearly interested. "I-I don't know how we could do it, but there's gotta be something we could do to get everyone used to working with each other." She reasoned. Uni immediately perked up.

"That could work, maybe we could try some kind of joint training exercise." Uni proposed, and Nepgear could tell that she had plenty of other ideas forming in her head. It was quite adorable.

"Good job Junior!" Nepgear nearly jumped out of her seat as her sisters voice rang out behind her.

"Neptune!" The Candidate turned around to scold her sister. "Why did you sneak up on me? What are you even doing here, you're supposed to be working!" Neptune's response to this, after a second of surprise, was to give her sister a serious look.

"If the author thinks he can have a chapter without me, then he's-"

* * *

"Falcom, are you sure we should be out here? Iffy told us to stay out of trouble."

"That woman said that there were kids looking for goblins in this forest." Falcom replied, not looking back as the two trudged through the woods. She was in adventure mode, which meant that her casual, relaxed persona had been shoved into a mental closet. Now she was focused and serious. "Look at it this way; we're staying out of trouble by keeping them out of trouble." She reasoned.

"Oh, that makes sense." Compa agreed after a moment of thought.

In truth angering the locals wasn't their biggest problem, that was the fact that they had no idea where the cave they were looking for was. IF's claim that they needed maps of the area wasn't false; it was easier to explore when you knew where everything was. Still, she was an adventurer, so this wasn't too inconvenient. And it's not like hiking through a forest was unpleasant: the sun shining through the bright green leaves, the sounds of birds chirping and animals running around, the scents of the various plants in bloom, the soft rustling in the bushes-

Wait a second!

Falcom immediately signaled for Compa to stop, her arm held protectively in front of the nurse and ready to summon Dragon Slayer from her Inventory.

"What is it?" Compa whispered.

"Not sure." Falcom answered, but they were going to find out soon, because the rustling was getting louder. Compa's syringe appeared in her arms as the two prepared to face whatever was making all that noise. Whatever it was, it was probably wounded, because it was making a serious racket thumping and growling through the undergrowth. Finally, the mysterious creature burst through the bushes.

Except it wasn't a monster, it was a trio of young boys, who slammed right into the stock adventuress.

Now, when three boys, no matter how young, crash into a teenage girl it typically ends with all four of them in a pile on the ground. Thankfully, Falcom was nearly at max level, so the trio just bounced off her with a series of 'oofs' while Falcom wasn't even phased. The boys lay in a stunned heap for a few moments as their senses slowly returned.

"Hey, are you guys alright?" Falcom asked in Saderan, offering the youths a hand. As the three boys regained their senses they all looked up at her with confusion on their faces, as well as bright blushes. They were all reaching that age, and Falcom's outfit was rather... risqué by Saderan standards.

*THUD*

The loud noise shook all three boys back to their senses, reminding them of why they'd been running for their lives. They quickly swarmed around Falcom, babbling in panicked Saderan as they tried to communicate the situation whilst also pulling her away.

*THUD*

"Easy! Easy! One at a time." Falcom protested, remaining firmly rooted in place. Her Saderan was pretty good, but not good enough to decipher their panicked stammering.

*THUD*

Finally, the apparent leader of the boys looked her dead in the eye, and with a quivering voice...

*THUD*

"It's an Orc!"

As soon as the warning left the boys lips, a massive creature burst out of the forest. The two girls immediately recognized it from the news footage of the Battle of Planeptune: a hulking beast with blood red skin that barely seemed to contain its bulging muscles. The creature let out a guttural roar that caused the three boys to huddle behind Falcom in fear. It raised a crude, wooden club over its head and swung it down towards the Adventuress.

Wow. These guys really were slow.

Falcom had seen the news, and read the reports that said Special Region monsters were incredibly slow and weak. But experience had taught her that reports weren't always reliable, so she'd remained skeptical. Now that she was seeing it with her own eyes however, she was actually surprised by just how slow it was. She was almost willing to take the risk of grabbing the kids and dodging, but opted to block instead. No reason to be careless.

She raised her hands above her head and called Dragon Slayer from her inventory. She didn't have time to take the blade out of its case, but that wasn't an issue.

A jolt ran through her body as the beasts club slammed into the case, but it wasn't too bad. She knew it hit hard, the sound of the ground cracking beneath her feet confirmed that. But she'd been knocked around by giant monsters, killer robots, and literal goddesses before. This was nothing.

The beast withdrew its weapon and glared at Falcom, clearly confused by her not being reduced to a stain on the ground. The Adventuress took advantage of the break to unlock the case and drew Dragon Slayer. Sunlight glinted off the blade as she pointed it at the creature, drawing a chorus of "oohs" from the observing boys. The Orc actually looked surprised at the very small creature pointing a shiny stick at it.

"Let's go big guy. Just you and me!" Falcom challenged in Saderan. If she could draw its attention away from Compa and the boys, then there was a good chance they could slip away. The creature's response was a confused grumble, either unable to understand her or confused at being challenged by a human. Falcom shifted into a fighting stance. Whether the monster took her seriously or not was irrelevant, it was was threatening her, Compa, and the kids. She wasn't going easy on it.

To the boys and the monster Falcom seemed to transform into a blur that rushed passed the creature with such incredible speed that it created a blast of wind. Scattering leaves, tearing up grass, and knocking over the three Special Region residents. Compa, used to such displays of power, was able to track Falcom as she rushed past the creature, severing its arm at the shoulder.

There was a moment of eerie silence, as though the world itself was trying to process what had just happened. Then the orcs arm hit the ground with a wet *thump* and everything began moving again: the wind created by Falcom's passing blasted the debris out of the clearing, the orc grabbed at the stump of its arm and roared in pain, and the boys all cheered as they realized what Falcom had just done.

Falcom didn't waste any time with her next move. She launched herself into the air, flipping over the creature. For a brief moment their eyes met: the Orcs yellow eyes a mixture of rage, pain and confusion, while Falcom's own red orbs were cold and held a steely determination. She lashed out with Dragon Slayer, slicing open the creatures neck.

The fight hadn't even lasted a full minute as she landed in a crouch, blade still outstretched and her free hand pressed against the ground, creating a rather epic pose. The Orc's body swayed from side to side before tilting backwards and falling to the ground with a mighty crash, blowing up a cloud of dust as it hit the dirt. Falcom stood up and held her sword out in front of her, examining the weapon. There was another long moment of silence.

And then the cheering started.

"That was awesome!"

"No Fair! I barely saw anything!"

"Wow miss, You're really strong!"

Falcom didn't respond, her eyes were fixed on her blade. Or, more specifically, the blood on her blade. She felt her stomach turn as the red fluid ran down Dragon Slayer and slowly dripped to the ground. That wasn't normal; monsters were just Negative Energy given a body. When they were cut the wound just glowed, then they either healed or died...

"Wow Falcom, I keep forgetting how strong you are." Compa spoke up, adding her own praise to the accord. The familiar voice pulled the adventuress back to reality, and she carefully flicked the blood off her weapon.

"Eh, it was nothing." Falcom replied, casually waving off her praise and returning her weapon to its case. "Come on, let's get these kids home. I'm sure their parents are worried sick." She finished with a chiding tone. All three boys immediately realized that they'd be in hot water once they got back to Coda Village.

"That's right, everyone will be so happy to see you safe!" Compa agreed cheerfully. With that, the odd group began the trip back to town. Compa led the way, with the boys in the middle, and Falcom brought up the rear. Once all eyes were off her, Falcom took a quick, anxious glance back at the site of the battle.

Her gut was twisting into knots, despite the easy win.

Everything about that fight had been wrong. First off, she hadn't received any sort of notice when the fight had begun, or when it ended. Next up was the collateral damage that she caused; She was used to sending off the occasional shockwave, or dramatic burst of wind, Gamindustri was basically an anime world after all. But she'd never torn up the ground or stripped leaves off of trees like that before. The body didn't disappear either. It was still there, lying in a pool of blood as flies began to gather around.

But the most worrisome thing was the lack of rewards. Now, Falcom didn't really care about rewards, adventuring was her passion, but battle rewards were important. Especially the Exp. If they couldn't gain Exp. their levels would start dropping. And if their levels started dropping...

What kind of world had they come to?

* * *

_I am writing this journal for the sake of my own sanity. This new world... it is so fantastical, so bizarre, that I fear I will take leave of my senses if I do not put my thoughts to writing._

_Now, where to begin... ah, I suppose my name would be a good start. I am Gaius Co Palesti; son and heir of the Marquis Solos Co Palesti. Leader of the Third Legion... or what pitiful scraps remain of it. I have a few other titles, but the seem unimportant now._

_Roughly half a year ago (it has been difficult to keep track of the date) the Empire's mages opened the Gate atop the sacred Alnus Hill. Everyone knows the legends of the Gate, and the land of unimaginable wealth that lies beyond. With Sadera standing as the dominant power on Falmart, the Senate decided it was time that we open the Gate, and seize this world for ourselves._

_My father objected to this, as did I, but we were overruled by the Senate. I was the leader of the Third Legion at the time, as was befitting of my status, and we were ordered to join the army that would serve as the vanguard of our invasion. I will not deny that, despite my earlier protests, I was rather excited for the campaign. I am still a young man, and I have yet to prove myself in the fires of war. A campaign to another world, under the command of the legendary Titus Em Varro? There was destined to be glory no matter what happened._

_If I had known what was beyond the Gate, I would not have been so optimistic._

_This world, Gamindustri, is so alien, so beyond anything I could have imagined, that I struggle to find words to describe it. It is a place of technology that would seem magical to even the dwarves, and where adolescents can wield magic more powerful than the Sages of Rondel. A place that is plagued by monsters worse than most found in our world, and where Gods walk amongst men._

_You can see why I am concerned for my sanity._

_I am currently detained in a prison of the nation we invaded: plah-ep-toon (I cannot read the language of this world, so I only know the name by sound.) My treatment had been... unexpected. By which I mean that all my fellow prisoners are given the same treatment, be they Noble, peasant, or non-human. No care is given to our race, nor our social class. Needless to say many of my fellow nobles protested this indignity, but the punishments meted out by our guards quickly put an end to that._

_I had wisely kept my silence._

_This is, obviously, only a brief recap of events, and there is much that has been omitted. But I feel it is enough for now. My nerves are much steadier than when I began. There are also... some things that I am not quite ready_

*Clang*

"Eyes up Baldy!" Gaius looked up from his letter toward the guard standing in his cell door. "Yard time. You can finish writing in your diary later." The man sneered. Gaius only understood about half of what he said, but he didn't need to know the language to know he'd been insulted.

"I'm coming, give me a moment." Gaius replied with his limited knowledge of the Otherworlders language. The guard chuckled, and Gaius guessed he'd said something wrong. He probably sounded like a child. The former General held his hand over the paper, his brows knitting in concentration. His efforts were rewarded when, after a few seconds, the journal vanished in a flash of blue light, and a message flashed across his vision.

-JOURNAL HAS BEEN ADDED TO INVENTORY-

What type of world had they come to, where people were granted such powers simply by being there?

* * *

IF yawned and stretched her arms above her head. She'd been talking with the Coda's elder, a kind but jumpy man named Louis, for the past few hours. The old man provided a lot of information, but the whole process had left her tired and sore. This was why she was happy to be a scout and not stuck behind a desk.

Louis had been very eager to help; telling her about village, the local geography, economics, some basic political information, it had been a productive couple hours to say the least. And she hadn't just been asking him questions, but answering his as well. She told him about Gamindustri: about the world, the nations, and the CPU's among other things. That last one has really gotten him excited. Evidently the Gods of the Special Region were a lot different than the CPU's. In fact, they sounded a lot like the generic pantheon that popped up in every fantasy RPG.

"Are you alright?" Louis asked nervously. He was still nervous around her, despite her assurances that she and her friends meant no harm.

"I'm fine, just a little stiff." IF reassured him, looking down at her phone (explaining what that was had taken a while) she realized that she'd been talking to him for... longer than she'd intended. They were only supposed to spend about an hour in each town, then move on. "It does seem that I've lingered a little too long however." She stated, rising from her chair and stretching again.

"Oh, nonsense. We're always happy to welcome travelers." The Elder insisted, but the note of worry was unmissable.

"And I'm thankful for your assistance, but my friends and I have a lot more ground to cover. We are scouts after all." IF explained, finishing with a soft smile.

"Ah, right. I suppose we have been talking for quite a while." Louis agreed with a smile of his own. "At the very least, let me get you the map I promised." He insisted, rummaging through his desk. IF blinked, slightly embarrassed since she'd completely forgotten about the map. The old man produced a sheet of paper and smoothed it out on the table. IF pulled out one of her phones and began scanning the picture.

"The next town down the road is an Elf village called Koan." Louis explained. IF couldn't stop her eyebrows from raising in surprise. A lot of people were saying that the Special Region was a generic fantasy world, but for some reason she hadn't expected Elves to exist. "They're friendly enough, but cautious around newcomers." Louis informed her.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the information." IF nodded. With their business concluded, IF made her way out of the house, escorted by Louis. She pushed open the door, stepped out into the sunlight...

And was greeted by the sound of a violin.

A quick scan of her surroundings revealed a number of villagers, and Compa, all watching enraptured at Falcom's performance. She couldn't blame them; Falcom's musical skills were something that was rarely mentioned, and even rarer to see. She was too modest to admit it, but she was one of the best musicians in Gamindustri. For the villagers of Coda, this was like a fairy tale; such music was something that only the Nobility could ever hope to afford, and yet the young redhead was performing for them free of charge.

The song soon came to an end, and as Falcom was packing up her instrument to the sound of applause IF placed a hand on her shoulder. "What's the occasion?" She asked with a friendly smile. Falcom didn't play very often, so she was curious.

"Well Compa and I have been helping while you were talking to the Elder." Falcom explained. "When we were done I got the urge to play, and I realized I hadn't practiced in a while. So..." Falcom let her voice trailed off and awkwardly scratched the back of her head. She probably thought her performance was terrible. Louis was quickly surrounded by the townspeople, and while IF couldn't make out everything they were saying, she could tell that Falcom and Compa had kept busy while she was gathering information.

The word "Orc" came up quite a bit.

"I'd say we can consider our mission to make friends with the locals a success." IF proposed as Compa joined them. "We need to move on. I learned a lot, but we're behind schedule."

"Ooh, where are we going next?" Compa asked, eager to explore more of the Special Region.

"A place called Koan Village. It's in the middle of a forest, and I'm told that Elves live there. Sounds like it'll be a really cool place."

* * *

There is no "Hell" in Gamindustri's mythology, at least not the fire-blasted wasteland that we are familiar with. But the trio couldn't help but draw parallels to the Gamindustri Graveyard, as they walked deeper into the burning Koan Forest. They'd been driving down the road, making small talk and following the map IF got from Louis, when they'd noticed the massive cloud of smoke rising into the sky. Like any group of goodhearted adventurers, they'd quickly moved in to investigate on foot.

"What could've caused all this fire?" Compa called, having to raise her voice to be heard over the roaring flame and cracking timbers.

"I don't know. Maybe it's a seasonal thing?" IF shouted back.

"Looks like there's a hill up ahead. We might be able to see something if we get to the top." Falcom proposed. The other two nodded in agreement and they began scaling the hill as quickly as they could.

It didn't take them long to find the source.

It was big. Bigger than any monster they'd seen before. It's entire body was covered in blood red scales, harder than Tungsten and resistant to any attack. Two massive wings beat furiously to keep it's armored bulk aloft. Each time the beast opened its maw, it unleashed a jet of flame that scorched the ancient trees of Koan. The forest would be nothing but a collection of black, skeletal trees by morning.

"I've never seen a dragon that big before!" Compa gasped, covering her mouth as her eyes widened with fear.

"D-Did we stumble onto a secret boss or something?!" IF failed to keep her fear hidden as her hand opened, reflexively preparing to summon a weapon if the creature noticed them.

Falcom said nothing, simple watching the creature with a look of apprehension as it continued flying over the forest. This creature was an order of magnitude above anything they'd seen in the Special Region thus far. If there were more like it, then things could be much more difficult than they'd anticipated.

The beast, seeming to have sated its appetite for destruction, gave one final roar before flying off into the distance. Seconds later, the unmistakable thunder of a sonic boom filled the air. The three remained still and silent, each of them waiting for any trace that the dragon would come back. Finally, after what felt like a small eternity, they all let out a sigh of relief.

"W-What kind of monster was that?!" Compa whimpered, collapsing to her knees.

"I don't know. I've never seen a boss leave it's territory like that before." IF gasped, bending slightly and putting her hands on her knees.

"Hey..." Both of them looked up as they heard Falcom's voice. The adventuress hadn't turned back to look at them, her eyes still fixed on the center of the forest.

"Didn't they say there was a village here?"

**A.N. And thus this chapter comes to an end.**

**Sorry for taking so long... again. This is the time of year when work tends to get really crazy, so I haven't had much time to write. Also, for about a month I had this weird, foggy feeling in my head. I've never felt like that before, but it made it impossible to think. It's gone now, and everything is back to normal.**

**Another thing that slowed me down was that GATE is one of those universes that keeps giving me ideas for crossovers: I've got one for Frostpunk, Pikmin, Stellaris, Overlord (2007 game, not the anime), Mass Effect Andromeda (I actually liked it, despite the glitches), Fallout (two actually), and an original series I've been working on called Trench. It's been hard to focus with all that bouncing around in my head. If anyone wants to hear about this stuff, then PM me. I love talking about the ideas that I may never write.**

**So, the chapter. Like I said, this was more of a set-up chapter than anything else, but I feel it served it's ****purpose. I really wanted to capture the feeling of two foreign worlds interacting. The Special Region is as alien to the people of Gamindustri and Gamindustri was to the Saderan's; it doesn't follow game logic the way their world does, and it's much harsher.**

**One more thing before I move on: I'm gonna be going back over the previous chapters to try and fix any lingering ****inconsistencies and grammar issues, so feel free tp let me know if there's something you've noticed.**

**Random Military Facts (may soon become Random Historic Facts): Looting**

**When people hear about looting, they typically imagine an army descending on a helpless village: murdering people, raping women, stealing everything that isn't nailed down, and burning the place to the ground as they leave. You may be ****surprised to learn that this isn't always the case. There is an account from the Hundred Years War where the English army "loots" a French village. During said looting they only took food and some small trinkets, then continued on their way. A few people were injured and killed, but wasn't the massacre that looting is typically portrayed to be.**

**The reason for this is quite simple: warfare is all about speed, and pillaging even a small town would take several hours, leave your men exhausted, and you now have hundreds of extra pounds of useless plunder weighing you down. It also leaves you completely vulnerable to an attack if the enemy army catches you with your pants down.**

**That's not to say that the "pillage and burn" style of looting was uncommon, far from it in fact, but it was only done when you knew you were "safe." When there were no large enemy armies nearby and you could quickly return to a fortified position and deposit your recently acquired riches. This is why I disapprove of people depicting the Saderan Army as immediately raping and stealing anything they could get their hands on the moment they cross through the Gate. It's more likely that any looting and kidnapping was done after they settled down to siege the Imperial Palace (which must have taken some time since, in the manga, they had time to bring up siege engines.)**

**Responding to Reviews:**

**Blazeblade: Whoops... But in regards to that plan, it was really the best she could have done with her limited resources and lack of experience.**

**xyzdreadnought: The armies Gamindustri do have artillery, but they can't just roll up to the Capital and shell them into submission. That mountain range I mentioned last chapter is in between Alnus Hill and Sadera, hence why Molt was planning to use it as a barrier. And flying the artillery over wouldn't work either, because you have to completely surround a city to effectively siege it, and their current forces aren't large enough to do that while also holding Alnus.**

**To put things into perspective, the raid on the Sadera in the end of season 2 took months of preparation, planning, and required them to transfer in an airborne regiment in order to make it possible. That was just a quick raid, not a prolonged siege**

**Yes, their advanced technology mitigates the damage of scorched earth, but it also creates a new problem: the Special Region does not have the ****infrastructure to support an army running all that advanced technology, so they have to build it themselves. They also have to garrison and police any territory they capture, which means they need to install the infrastructure and supply systems to house and feed those garrison forces.**

**Doom King of Latveria: I don't mean to be rude, but your english was really bad in this review, so it's kinda for me to make out what you were trying to say.**

**Siatru: Whoops... again.**

**amerdism: I call Neptune's human form her normal form, ****because it's been stated numerous times that it is taxing to remain in HDD form for long periods of time. Because of that, I view human form as "normal" and HDD as a "power boost." ****This could potentially become a really deep philosophical thing, so I'll leave it at that.**


	7. Countdown to Ignition

Gate: Thus the Empire was Nepped

Chapter 4: Countdown to Ignition

The fires continued to rage throughout the night, and there was nothing left of Koan Forest by the time they burned out. Nothing but scorched earth, and the charred, skeletal remains of trees, standing like tombstones.

The silence was broken by the soft rumble of an engine as the truck rolled through the burnt woodland. Its three occupants remained silent as the vehicle followed, what they assumed was the remains of a dirt road. None of them spoke, they just sat in morose silence, occasionally glancing out at the remains of the once lush woods around them.

Soon, they found what remained of the elven village. It was nothing more than the burnt foundations of some small houses. Some of the former inhabitants' corpses lay on the ground, charred beyond recognition.

"Let's search for survivors." IF ordered as they hopped out of the truck, but there was no enthusiasm in her voice. The trio spread out and began their search, but this too lacked energy. The odds of someone surviving the firestorm from the previous night were slim-to-none. Searching was more of a courtesy, before they got down to the business of counting corpses. After over half an hour of sifting through rubble and being rewarded with charred cadavers, the group reconvened at a well in the center of the village.

"I take it you didn't find anything either?" IF asked in a tired voice. It was still early in the morning, but it was as if the melancholy and deadness of this place was sapping her strength.

"Nothing." Falcom sighed, sounding equally glum. Compa didn't say anything, giving a sad sigh and shaking her head, her eyes downcast. They were no strangers to death, but that did not mean they were numb to it. Especially not something like this. Despite everything that had happened over the years, they'd never witnessed a tragedy of this scale.

"We... we should tell Nep and the others about this." IF spoke after a long silence. "They need to know that that Boss is flying around, it could do a lot of damage if it shows up at the base." Realizing her mouth was dry, IF materialized a canteen. It was a hot day, and the fire had left the air torrid. IF raised the canteen to her lips, but no water came out. She raised the vessel to her ear and gave it a light shake, but heard nothing. Had she drank it all that quickly?

"I'll get you a refill." Falcom offered.

"No need." IF declined politely. Picking up a bucket that, somehow, hadn't been reduced to cinders and dropping it into the well. A loud *crack* echoed up from the pit seconds later. IF looked down, suspecting the bucket had hit a rock, or that the well was empty somehow. She was not expecting to see a girl floating in the water.

"There's someone down there!"

Falcom and Compa were there in an instant, carefully peering over the edge pit.

"I'll get the truck. We can take some cable-" IF was cut off when Falcom suddenly vaulted over the side of the well, landing without any difficulty, and gently pulled the girl onto her back. IF and Compa only got a second to wonder how she would get out when the Adventuress suddenly leapt halfway up the shaft. As she started losing energy she quickly reached out and grabbed the side of the well, her fingers digging into the stone. Without missing a beat, she planted her feet against the wall and kicked off, launching herself out of the well. Compa and IF pulled back to avoid being hit by the redhead.

Falcom landed softly behind them and gently placed the Elf girl on the ground. "She's still breathing, but she's freezing cold." Falcom reported, worry clear in her voice.

Compa snapped out of her stupor, and quickly began checking the blonde's injuries. IF meanwhile, stared at Falcom with clear surprise as she tried to process what had just happened. Falcom was unquestionably one of the most athletic members of Neptune's party, but moves like that were beyond even her skills.

"How did you do that?" IF questioned, her voice sounding warier then she intended. Falcom didn't answer at first, instead holding up her hand and staring at it with a distant look. She spoke after a moment.

"I was... testing something." She answered, looking up to the Scout with uncertain eyes. "We should call the CPU's. I have something I need to tell them."

* * *

The Communication Room at the Coalition's main base was... a bit hectic. Since their initial focus had been securing a foothold in the Special Region, the GCF hadn't had a reason to set up their more advanced long range Comms equipment. As such, communication with their scout teams was limited to radio calls. So, when IF's team called in with information that the CPU's absolutely had to hear, it had led to the four Goddesses, and their sisters, all huddled around a very, very uncomfortable radio operator.

"A Boss monster, capable of destroying an entire forest, and it just flew away?" Noire summarized IF's report, her brow scrunched as she processed the news. The other CPU's had similar looks of apprehension as the weight of the situation sunk in.

"I suppose it was too much to hope that this would be a simple affair." Vert sighed, massaging her temples.

"Yeah, stuff like this isn't supposed to show up until the story's almost over!" Neptune chimed in, clearly annoyed. Blanc gave a small noise of agreement, whilst the Candidates remained silent, but were clearly uncomfortable with the development.

"That's right." IF's confirmation crackled through the radio. "It was... I've never seen a Boss do this much damage before. There's nothing left but charcoal." Even with the distortion from the radio they could hear her voice shaking. Vert clasped a hand to her chest, clearly wishing she could comfort her love.

"Well this is a bummer." Said Neptune with a frown. "I was hoping this whole thing would be a pudding walk-"

"Cake walk." Noire murmured.

"-that we could wrap up without much trouble. There weren't supposed to be any Boss level monsters in the Special Region." The Protagonist finished.

"That's why we sent out recon teams." Blanc pointed out.

"Um, IF..." Nepgear spoke up, her usual nervousness causing her to stop when all eyes turned to her. After taking a moment to gather her courage, she continued. "Do you think that dragon would attack other villages around that forest?" The mood in the room suddenly changed; the melancholy that had settled with word of the desolation of Koan was replaced with a new energy as the threat of a mobile Boss sunk in.

"I'm not sure, I have no idea how Bosses work in this world..." IF's voice faded as she finished, a soft murmur came through the radio as she thought it over. "It could definitely reach Coda. It flew fast enough to create a sonic boom." She reasoned.

"The amount of damage that thing could do-"

"Oh heck no!" Neptune cut Vert off, earning an irate huff. "I ain't lettin' some big lizard go flying around and torching people. Junior, we're going dragon hunting!" The purple CPU declared, thrusting her fist in the air. Unfortunately, her enthusiasm didn't seem to affect her fellow goddesses, and most of the non-Planeptune soldiers were giving her weird looks.

"Um, Neptune..." Nepgear spoke up again. "you're in charge of the army, and I don't have the authority to take over." The Candidate explained, causing her sister to lower her arm. "We also don't know where the dragon went, or if it's still there, and we don't have a lot of Share Crystals..." Nepgear continued to list the reasons why they couldn't go after the dragon, and each counterpoint caused Neptune to deflate like a balloon with a slow leak.

"But just because we can't directly attack the creature doesn't mean we can't try to mitigate the damage it causes." Vert suggested, thoughtfully placing a hand on her chin. "Iffy, do you think you could convince the Chief of Koda village to evacuate?" She queried.

"Probably. He was a little nervous around me, but he's definitely got his village's best interests at heart." The Guild agent reasoned.

"You think we could convince them to come here?" Blanc asked.

"Well, I ain't gonna let them go wandering around without a home." Neptune declared. "Send em our way Iffy. We'll put something together when they-"

"There's something else." Falcom's voice suddenly cut her off. This surprised everyone; cutting someone off was rather rude, and very out of character for the Adventuress. "When we visited Coda Village, I saved some kids who were being attacked by an Orc. I took it out no-problem, but while I was fighting it..." She paused, taking a moment to consider her explanation. "You know how high level Guild agents sometimes send out shockwaves when they swing their weapons, or create wind blasts from running really fast?"

Neptune nodded an affirmative... and then, after a few seconds of awkward silence, remembered that Falcom couldn't actually see her. "Yeah, those anime effects that let you know someone is a certified badass." Neptune acknowledged.

"Yeah, except it was like someone turned them up to ten or something. I ripped up the ground, blasted the leaves off of trees, even knocked down a couple of branches. It was way more destructive than anything I've done before." She recounted to them. All the CPU's were surprised like that. Even in HDD it was rare for them to do that much damage. Though not everyone was unnerved.

"We're just too awesome for this world!"

All eyes immediately turned to a grinning Ram. But they weren't chastising or admonishing, they were curious, and even a little surprised.

"That... actually makes sense." Uni mused.

"This world isn't used to people with power like ours, so we cause more damage than usual." Blanc expanded on the idea.

"Well, we should tell the scout teams to be careful with the big attacks. We don't want to accidentally create any new landmarks" Nepgear stated, glancing at her sister. Everyone could tell Neptune was fantasizing about having a piece of unnatural geography named after herself.

"Indeed, it would be hard to befriend the locals if we're leaving craters everywhere." Vert agreed with a soft chuckle.

"So, no big attacks, and we need to evacuate Coda." IF recounted her orders, making sure she had all the details.

* * *

Word of the Flame Dragon's awakening traveled fast. Within less than an hour the people of Coda were loading their belongings into wagons in preparation for the long journey ahead of them. It wasn't just the townspeople either, some villagers had also gone to warn the farmers that lived further from the village. Soon, small groups of laborers began funneling into the village, and joined in with the refugees.

There was one dwelling that was still inhabited; a small hut, not far from the village, and nestled in a small grove. It was the home of the Great Sage Cato El Altestan, one of the most powerful Mages in all of Falmart. Living with him was his apprentice, a nomad girl named Lelei La Lelena. She was a young girl, barely old enough to truly be considered a woman, with short blue hair and bright blue eyes that shone with a natural curiosity. A trait that would serve her well as a mage.

The young apprentice was currently helping her Master load their —very overloaded— wagon. Cato may have been a powerful Sage, but even he couldn't hope to defeat a Flame Dragon. So they were joining the refugees fleeing the area. She placed a small stack of books onto the bed of the cart, and was rewarded with an ominous creaking noise. The stoic blunette's eyebrows rose a fraction of a centimeter, and she turned back to her mentor.

"Master," Cato's head appeared in a small window. He was the picture of a wizened mage: elegant robes, long grey hair, and an equally grey beard. "The cart can't take anymore." She informed him in an emotionless voice.

"That's not good." The old man replied, stroking his beard in thought. "Is there anything you can do about it?" Lelei turned back to the cart and began rummaging through its contents. When Cato arrived at the front door Lelei had produced two bags from the wagon.

"We could leave behind the Koum Seeds and Lokde Pears. It would be most efficient." Lelei proposed, handing the bags to her master. Cato stared at the bags with a look of apprehension, and for several seconds it looked like he would reject the suggestion. Then, he sighed in resignation and began walking the supplies back to the hut. He was loathed to leave such valuable ingredients behind, but it was for the best. Lelei had suggested earlier that they leave some of his books behind, but he'd rebuked her. He'd spent a lifetime building that collection, and he wasn't going to let it be burned by some overgrown lizard!

"This isn't good. The Flame Dragon should still be hibernating for another fifty years." He thought aloud, placing the bags back in his dwelling, and closing the door. If he was lucky, then maybe it wouldn't be burnt to cinders, and he could return. He turned back to the wagon and saw Lelei had already taken the reins.

"Everything is ready. Let's ride."

She really should have worded that differently.

"Ha ha, ride you! I'm sorry Lelei, but you're still too young for me!" The old man guffawed with a perverted grin on his face. "Now your sister on the other hand, she's another matter! Oh, the curves on her-ACK!" His musings were violently interrupted when a snowball struck him in the face. And it was followed by several more snowballs, all of them being created and hurled in rapid succession by Lelei. Her deadpan look betrayed annoyance.

"Stop! Stop! Magic is sacred! It must never be abused like this!" Cato pleaded, desperately trying to fend off the assault. Lelei relented, though not before nailing her mentor with a final, well-placed shot. Cato brushed the snow off his robe and climbed into the front seat, mumbling about his students lack-of humor. Lelei snapped the reigns, and the mule attached to the wagon began to pull forward...

...and then stopped with a snort.

"Too heavy."

Cato nodded in agreement, then reached back to grab his staff. "Well, good thing we can just magic our way out of it." The old man declared, raising the foci dramatically above his head. A simple incantation later, and the cart was floating several inches off the ground. The Sage turned to give his apprentice a smile, and received a questioning look.

"Magic is sacred. It must never be abused." Lelei recited what her Master had said less than five minutes before. Cato blinked, then smiled sheepishly.

"It seems you're just too smart for me." He chuckled as the wagon began moving.

"It's fine." Lelei replied. The two rode in relative silence for several minutes. Cato would occasionally toss out a question or two to quiz his young apprentice, but beyond that they didn't talk much. Lelei wasn't very chatty. As they arrived in town, the whole place was abuzz with activity. People were frantically loading wagons with everything they could, even though the vehicles weren't designed to transport heavy loads.

"They want to leave quickly, yet they're taking time to load all their possessions." Lelei observed.

"I suppose it's human nature, to try and save what you can. Even if you know you must move quickly." Cato mused as their cart pulled into the wagon train leaving town. Unfortunately, they didn't get very far before the wagon in front of them came to a halt. Cato grumbled and was about to ask a passing farmer what had caused the hold up, when he heard someone talking in a strange language.

_"...heard them say that a cart overturned."_

_"I really hoped we'd be able to get further..."_

Lelei and her Master saw two girls run past. Both of them were wearing the strangest clothes the duo had ever seen, and they were Mages. "What sort of language-" Cato's musings were cut off when Lelei jumped off of the wagon, and ran after the mysterious girls. He didn't try to stop her: Lelei may not have been very social, but she was empathetic. She was always willing to help those in need, to the best of her ability.

When Lelei arrived at the front of the wagon train, she found it in total disarray. A wagon lay overturned in the middle of the road, its contents scattered all over the street, and the horse pulling it lying on its side. A crowd of people had all gathered around, gawking at the accident as though it were some spectacle. The two strangely dressed teens were standing between the crowd and the accident site. The last thing Lelei noticed was a young girl, lying injured on the ground.

Deciding that the girl needed her help the most, Lelei began moving towards her, easily slipping past the two distracted newcomers. Lelei knelt next to the girl, and began examining her condition.

"Broken ribs... head trauma... life threatening injuries." She concluded, already running through a mental catalogue of treatments. If she worked quickly, there was a possibility that-

Her train of thought was cut off when a shadow suddenly fell over her. She looked up, and gasped in horror as she saw the horse from the cart standing above her. The panicked beast was rearing up on its hind legs, preparing to crush them. Time seemed to slow down as the creature's hooves fell towards her. There was nothing she could do; she'd had to drop her foci to examine the girl, and there was no way she could grab it, and raise a shield to protect herself.

_"Is this it...?"_

_"Is this... how I d-"_

Her thoughts were cut off when she felt something wrap around her abdomen and pull her backwards. Hard. Lelei gasped as she tried to catch her breath, and turned to thank her savior. She was met with a pair of bright green eyes. Lelei blinked several times, trying to clear her near-death stupor. As her awareness returned she realized what had happened: this girl had, somehow, managed to grab her, and pull her to safety mere seconds before the horse's hooves had come down. Not only that, but she'd managed to grab the injured child as well.

It... it shouldn't have been possible! The girl who'd saved her had been standing too far away to close the distance quickly enough. The three of them should have been crushed!

_"Are you ok?"_ The girl with the blue... robe, asked. Lelei, realizing she was staring, nodded an affirmative and stood up. Remembering the panicked horse, she turned and prepared to deal with the panicked animal, but found the red haired woman already working to pacify it. Lelei watched curiously as the young woman held up her hands and whispered calming words to the horse.

_"Iffy, I'm here!"_

Lelei saw another strangely dressed girl approaching, this one with long ginger hair and a very fuzzy shirt, and began talking with the brunette. Lelei listened to their conversation, trying to pick up on any patterns or nuances in their speech that would indicate what they were talking about. The cloaked woman pointed her fuzzy friend to the injured girl, leading Lelei to believe that she was some kind of physician.

When the conversation came to an end, the physician knelt down over the girl and held a hand over her head.

_"Compa's CPR!"_

Lelei cried out in shock as she was blinded by a flash of white and green light. After a few seconds of rubbing burning eyes her vision finally returned. She'd never seen magic like that before, even after her years of studying under the Great Sage Cato. She hadn't used a foci, and it had taken no time to cast-

The girl opened her eyes.

For what felt like the hundredth time that day, Lelei was stunned, and she wasn't the only one. Everyone who had been watching the newcomers helping with the crash was standing in utter shock. The girl, who had suffered fatal injuries, slowly stretched her arms above her head and yawned. It was as if she'd just woken up from a restful nap, and there wasn't a single mark on her. No evidence of an injury remained. This went beyond any healing magic known in Falmart...

It was a miracle.

_"Who are these people?"_

* * *

Unfortunately, that first crash in Coda was not the only incident that tormented the caravan. Snapped axles, lost wheels, exhausted animals, these were just some of the misfortunes that plagued the refugees as they continued their flight. It seemed as though they couldn't move further than a few miles, before another wagon broke down. What made it worse, was that most times people didn't even try to help the people who crashed.

Many people lost their belongings, and were forced to trudge alongside the convoy on foot. It was a horrible, exhausting ordeal, but it would have been a lot worse, if not for a certain Stock Adventuress.

"Alright, give it a go!" Falcom shouted, bracing herself against the back of a wagon. She heard the sound of reigns snapping, and as the cart lurched forward she began to push. Back in Gamindustri, it would have taken a half-dozen people to push the vehicle out of the mud hole it was stuck in.

In this world, where she had anime super strength, it was a one woman job. Well, technically two, since Risette was manning the reigns, but she was the only one pushing.

It took her a few minutes to free the cart. Not because it was heavy, but she'd hurt the horse if she pushed it too quickly. She probably could have picked the whole thing up, and carried it over her head if she wanted to. With one final shove, she pushed the wagon out of the mud and back onto solid ground. Releasing the vehicle, Falcom took a step back as the horse pulled it a few more steps before stopping.

"Alright, everything should be good now." Falcom assured as Risette's husband as he jogged over to her.

"Thank you so much, I don't know if anyone else would have helped us if you weren't here." The man praised her, rapidly shaking her hand to express her enthusiasm.

"Don't be like that. These people are your neighbors, I'm sure someone would have helped you." Falcom assured him while waving away his praise.

After a quick conversation, she began jogging along the roadside. After a few miles, she returned to the truck, where IF, Compa, some children and elderly people from the village, and the mysterious Elf girl were riding along with the convoy. She pulled open the passenger side door and began to climb in.

"Stop!" The red head almost jumped away, startled by IF's sudden order. The brunette was shooting her a scolding look, and for a moment Falcom wondered what she'd done wrong. Then, by sheer chance, she caught a glimpse of herself in the truck's mirror.

Yikes!

She was a mess.

Her whole body was covered in a fine layer of dirt, which significantly darkened her complexion. Her hair was as close to a rats nest as it could be with her hair-band still on. As for her clothes... let's just say white and light blue were not good colors to wear when working in the dirt and mud. She was also sunburnt, but that was normal for a shipwreck veteran like herself.

"I, uh, can't exactly clean myself off..."

"Just... shake the mud off your boots at least." IF spoke with a sigh. "With how slow things are moving, I'm gonna be in here for six hours at least." Falcom nodded and, a few moments later, joined her companions in the truck. Compa and the other passengers were sitting in the back, with the elf laying on the floor.

"Sorry about that. You know how I can be a little... protective, when it comes to my stuff."

Understatement of the year. Everyone in the Guild knew that bad things would happen if they touched IF's bike, and her cell phones-

"Wait, how come you're not catatonic right now?" The red haired adventurer blurted out. After receiving confused looks she elaborated. "I mean, you typically get all timid when something happens to your phone, but you've been fine this whole trip."

IF suddenly looked uncomfortable. Really, really uncomfortable.

"Uh... Nep and Vert put me through... desensitization training." She disclosed... wait, was she blushing!? Ok, best not to ask what had happened, or else IF might accidentally drive them into a ditch.

Ok, think of something to change the conversation...

"Wow, that sure is a lot of crows."

Both IF and Falcom turned back to look at Compa, then, realizing that the nurse was looking through the front window, turned back to see that yes, there was a large murder of crows circling up ahead.

IF pressed down on the accelerator, moving the truck towards the front of the column. Crows were carrion birds. If that many were gathered in one place, then there was probably something very bad in that direction. Falcom materialized Dragon Slayer's case on her lap, preparing for anything.

As they got closer and closer, Falcom could make out a figure in the middle of all those night black birds.

"...Is that a Gothic Lolita?"

"Yes... yes it is."

IF and Falcom continued to stare blankly at the sight before them. It wasn't that they'd never seen a goth Lolita before, they just hadn't expected to find one in the Special Region. Also, she had an axe that even Blanc would call oversized, and she was surrounded by birds that eat corpses.

"I'm gonna go talk to her." Falcom decided, unlocking the case and stepping out of the truck.

"We'll be ready to back you up." IF informed as Falcom closed the door.

The adventuress cautiously approached the girl. She hadn't drawn her weapon yet, she didn't want to escalate the situation, but she was ready in case things took a turn for the worst. After taking a few cautious steps forward, she stopped and gave the girl a friendly wave.

"Hello?" She called in Saderan. The black haired loli didn't answer, or visibly respond in any way. She kept sitting there, staring at the red head with a playful smile on her face. Falcom couldn't help but feel a little awkward under her gaze. "Are you lost?" She questioned. This time she got a response; an amused giggle.

_"Do I not speak Saderan very well? No, people understood me fine back in Coda. Maybe she speaks a different language? But she seems to understand what I'm saying."_ Falcom tried to puzzle together the girls' reactions. _"Could she... be flirting with me?"_ Falcom's cheeks were dusted a light red at the thought, though it was hidden by the dirt on her face. The black-clad girl giggled again, and stood up, resting the weight of her comically oversized weapon on her shoulder.

"Wait, don't make any sudden moves." Falcom commanded, her voice forceful, but not hostile. She didn't want an unnecessary fight, but she still had no idea who this girl was, or what she intended.

_"If I have to fight her, then hopefully my crazy anime strength-"_

"It's the Apostle!" Falcom's mental planning was interrupted when a small crowd of children went stampeding past her, and swarmed around the gothic girl. It was Falcom's pleasant surprise that the girl seemed completely unperturbed by the sudden mob. In fact, she found herself drawing parallels to the groups of fans that often swarmed her, 5pb., the CPU's, and all of the more popular members of her group of friends.

"Who are these people, little ones?" The black clad girl asked. Falcom found it a little funny that she was calling children who were only a few years younger than her "little ones."

"They're adventurers, and they're really cool too!" A child told the Loli, his whole body practically vibrating with excitement. Falcom recognized him as one of the boys she and Compa had rescued.

"Adventurers, you say?" The girl repeated, once again turning a curious eye to Falcom. This time something was different; before her curiosity had been playful, almost childish, as though wondering how the person before her could amuse her. Now, her curiosity was much more... genuine. Now, she was trying to figure out if the red headed girl before her was a friend, or an enemy.

"Yeah, they're awesome!" The boy eagerly continued, pointing back at Falcom. "That girl over there, Falcon, she saved us from an orc! It was amazing!" The whole gaggle of children immediately broke into a series of (greatly dramatized) retellings of Falcom's battle against the vile creature.

"Did she now?" The girl drawled, once again turning her gaze to Falcom, and this time it sent a jolt up Falcom's spine, her hand flying to her sword. The look in her eyes was like a cat that had just cornered a mouse, and was preparing to play with it. Falcom's whole body tensed in preparation. She didn't know who this girl was, but at that moment she was certain of one thing: she was dangerous.

"And where, pray tell, are you all going?" She queried, the coy, innocent smile on her lips not matching with the deadly flicker in her eye.

"Well, I don't really know, but the grown-ups say that we're going somewhere safe from the Flame Dragon." The boy explained. The goth's lips curled upwards, and her innocent smile took on a devilish quality. Her eyes slowly fluttered closed.

And when they opened, the feeling of staring down a hungry beast faded away, and Falcom could breathe again.

The subtle, menacing look that the adventuress had been enduring was gone, amusement once again dancing in her crimson orbs. Falcom wasn't sure if she'd passed some sort of test, or if she'd just been trolled. She suspected a little of both.

The girl resumed walking toward the adventuress, surrounded by a gaggle of children and with an almost playful spring in her step. It would have looked like something out of a cartoon, if it weren't for the giant axe on her shoulder. It also put Falcom in a difficult position, since she couldn't attack for fear of hurting the kids, so she had to let the girl approach her unchallenged.

"Is it true that you're taking these people somewhere safe?" The mysterious loli asked sweetly.

"Yes. We're helping them find a place where they'll be safe from the Flame Dragon." Falcom replied cautiously. She had no reason to lie, but she still had no idea who this person was.

"Well in that case, I shall accompany you." The girl declared with a bright smile, immediately attempting to step around Falcom. An attempt that was foiled when Falcom stepped in front of her.

"Sorry, but I can't let some armed stranger join in with us." Falcom interjected.

"Yes, I suppose it would be rude of me to simply tag along." The girl giggled, seeming very amused. Then, with a bow:

"Rory Mercury. Apostle of the God Emroy."

And suddenly, a gothic lolita with a giant axe, and a childish yet threatening personality didn't seem so out of place. At least by Special Region standards, because that wouldn't be too weird in Gamindustri.

After the Saderan invasion had been defeated, the first thing the Guild had tried to figure out was who their CPU was. Obviously, that hadn't worked out, but when the shock of a world without CPU's wore off they immediately focussed once more on getting as much information about the Special Region's Gods as they could.

Apostles were similar to CPU Candidates; people who would become gods after a period of time, and were given supernatural powers. At least that was the Guild's understanding.

Needless to say, finding and befriending these Apostles was a very high priority.

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Falcom." The redhead introduced herself, and extended a hand in greeting. Rory looked down at the hand, tilting her head in mild confusion. Then she covered her mouth and giggled.

"How bold of you, Falcom, proposing so soon after our first meeting, and to an Apostle no less."

"Pro-...pose?!" Falcom's voice jumped in volume as her face changed to match her hair. She was in a different world. A different world with different customs. Back in Gamindustri, a handshake was a polite greeting, but apparently in the Special Region it was a proposition of marriage!

She'd just proposed to a Demi-Goddess!

"I-I-I didn't mean... er, well, y-you see, back w-where I'm from, a handshake, t-that's what we call it," She desperately tried to explain, but she could barely think straight, let alone speak. Was this why IF always freaked out around Vert, or whenever she thought about Vert? "is a greeting. I-It's just something you do to say hello!" And she was still rambling! She couldn't stop the words from falling out of her mouth.

At the very least Rory hadn't been offended. If the laughter was any indication, she was rather amused. "Relax Falcom, I'm only joking." Rory assured her between fits of chuckles. "Whilst that gesture is indeed used to propose marriage, I could tell that was not your intention." The Apostle explained, waving her hand as though to shoo away any confusion.

_"Did I just get trolled?"_

Pushing the thought aside, Falcom politely invited the Apostle to follow her as she led her back to the truck. When Rory immediately began examining the "horseless carriage" Falcom took the opportunity to talk to IF.

"So, who is she?" IF asked, carefully watching the goth girl as she inspected the truck, poking curiously at the hood.

"She says she just wanted to know who we are, and where we were taking the villagers." Falcom explained, then, leaning in closer. "She's an Apostle. I think she wants to make sure her people are ok." She theorized. IF immediately shot a surprised look at the black haired girl, who had finished prodding the vehicle and was walking back to Falcom.

"You're sure?" IF almost blurted out, once again shooting a glance at Rory. Falcom nodded an affirmative. "Okay, in that case we need to take her to meet Nep and the others as soon—" and that was as far as she got before Rory pulled the door open and climbed onto her lap.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" The brunette demanded, already moving to push the loli off.

"My my, this is much more comfortable than any carriage I've been in." The Apostle proclaimed, leaning back and shifting around to find a more comfortable position. It was painfully clear that she was aware of IF's protests, and that she didn't really care.

"Don't be like that, you can take my seat." Falcom reasoned, trying to keep things diplomatic.

IF had other ideas.

"Get off!"

It was then that a rather amusing chain of events unfolded.

1\. IF shoved Rory off of her lap and onto the passenger's seat.

2\. Rory, purely on reflex (or so she'd claim) grabbed Falcom by the wrist.

3\. Falcom, unprepared for the sudden tug, was pulled into the vehicle and splayed out across the two girls.

4\. When Falcom was pulled in, her foot caught the door and slammed it shut.

The bewildered villagers in the caravan all jumped back in shock as the door closed, and continued to stare as the mysterious vehicle suddenly began shaking.

"Ow!"

"So rude."

"Was that really necessary?"

"Sorry..."

"Oh, what are these?"

"Hey, be careful!"

"Ugh, Falcom, watch your knee."

"My bad."

"No wor—don't touch that!"

"Iffy, try not to shake the truck so much. It's bad for the patient."

"Sorry Compa."

"I said don't touch those!"

"Who's hand is that?"

"My bad."

"What does this button do?"

* * *

Back at Coalition HQ, Neptune's head suddenly shot up.

"What's wrong, sis?"

"I sense a great disturbance in the universe, as though someone uttered famous last words."

Nepgear gasped in horror.

* * *

They were, eventually, able to force Rory into one of the back seats with Compa, the elf, and the rest of Coda's children. Thankfully, she seemed to have worked all of the earlier mischievousness out of her system. Now she was mostly just keeping the kids entertained and helping Compa take care of her patient.

As for the evacuation, it was still moving along at a painfully slow rate. There had been less accidents, but the hot sun and long trek were taking their toll on the people of Coda. The terrain had changed from open fields and rolling hills to a flat, empty expanse of rock strewn ground, broken up by a few large cliffs. It was dull, hot, and lifeless. But it also meant that they'd be able to see any monsters coming from a mile away.

Falcom found that rather comforting. They hadn't been attacked by anything the entire journey; no bandits, no monsters, no nothing. Now, that should have been reassuring. It might even be a sign that this world was safer than Gamindustri in some ways. Or, alternatively...

"Do you think I've spent too much time with Neptune?" Falcom asked, turning from the window to look at IF.

"Why are you asking?" IF asked back, keeping her eyes on the road.

"Because we haven't run into any trouble, and instead of being relieved, I can't stop thinking about how this is probably an event trigge-" Falcom immediately covered her mouth mid-sentence. She and IF traded a look of horror.

Rule number one: never talk about event triggers, especially if you think you're getting close to an event trigger!

Falcom immediately stuck her head out the window, and began scanning the horizon. She was not going to let whatever disaster was about to happen catch them off-guard. For a few minutes there wasn't any sign of trouble, and she was almost willing to believe that they'd gotten away with their mistake. Then, as she squinted back at the sun, she saw something. A small shadow, steadily growing larger. Growing closer. A familiar reptilian shape with two large wings.

One wyvern? That wasn't much of- OH NO!

"Dragon!" Falcom cried in alarm, pulling her head back in the window. "The Flame Dragon found us!"

**A.N. And thus this chapter comes to a close**

**This took way longer than it should have. I wanted this chapter to be out before the new year, but shit happened. My family had a minor medical emergency back in December, so I had to help take care of my mother, while also dealing with the madness of the holidays. After that, it was hard to get back into the mood to write, especially since work picked up. Then the Coronavirus happened... I now have plenty of time to write, but the panic attacks don't make it easy. Autism, paranoia, and a global pandemic are not a good mix.**

**The next chapter will be much shorter. It should mostly be ****the Flame Dragon battle, with maybe a scene or two afterwards. I'm pretty good with fight scenes, so I'm hoping to make it enjoyable for everyone reading. Though, I haven't really decided if I'm gonna kill the Flame Dragon or not. The only thing leaving it alive does is set up Yao's story arc, and that can easily be adapted, as can Tuka's recovery.**

**What do you guys think: should I kill the Flame Dragon, or let it escape?**

**Random Historic Facts: Rape During Wartime**

**A very risqué topic to be certain, but one that I feel needs to be ****addressed, especially by the GATE fanbase. For some reason, whenever people are talking about the crimes of the Saderan Empire, they alway emphasize rape. And when I say "emphasize" I mean they act like rape is the worst things the Saderan's could have possibly done.**

**Make no mistake; rape is horrible. I'm not denying that, and I'm certainly not condoning it, but acting like it's the worst thing they could possibly do is... juvenile, bordering on naive. Historically speaking, the attitude towards rape during a war was typically "it's okay when we do it, but if they do it they're monsters." No one really cared, and in many cases it was even encouraged as a show of dominance and macho. Even knights and samurai were not immune to this, as there are chivalric and bushido codes that explain how it is noble to rape a woman from an enemy nation.**

**Furthermore, the heavy emphasis on rape in these stories and arguments is very unimaginative. The Romans were famous for brutal reprisals: crucifixion, mutilation, and murdering civilians were just some of the tactics they used to control rebellious populations, but the best anyone can come up with for the Roman knock-off Saderan's is rape? That's not just lazy, it's and I hate to use this term, edgy.**

**I'll say it again; rape is terrible, and the fact that it was so common is horrible, but people need to stop acting like it makes the Saderan's worse than anything in human history: the Roman's strangled defeated enemies to death in celebration of victory, the Mongols used POW's as human ****shields, the Aztecs raided nearby tribes to capture human sacrifices, and the Red Army had almost two million allegations of rape during WWII. One atrocity does not outweigh all others.**

**Responding to Reviews:**

**blacksoul123: No, none of the Japanese characters from GATE will be appearing.**

**xyzdreadnought: They will definitely be making Share Crystals, but, like you said, they take a while to make, and don't last very long.**

**Chara: Good question. Very, very good question. Simply put, since Inventory is something that everyone on Gamindustri has, they have developed technology that allows them to view and forcibly remove items from someones Inventory. They still let prisoners use it because, to them, it's basically a human right.**


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